The Risks
by CaitieCat78
Summary: This story is branching off of the Reckoning, almost like an alternate ending. There's nothing else to be said without ruining the story, so you'll just have to read it for yourself! Hope you like it!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone who decided to read my story! Basically, it's an alternate ending to the Reckoning (not that it **_**needs**_** a better ending, of course). It starts off towards the middle of the book when they're beginning to plot their escape from the Banks' mansion. It takes some plot ideas from the original Reckoning while still incorporating new twists. My story also kind of jumps right in to the plot, so just keep with it and it'll make sense. Please R&R (even if you don't like it, I'd like to hear what you think!) Thanks!**

"Hey!" I cried as loud as I dared, only wanting Derek to hear me. Sure enough it was his lumbering footsteps coming up the stairs.

"What?"

"I found something."

"Where?"

"Over there." I waved him over to the far corner. If he noticed anything strange about me not following him there, he didn't comment on it.

"What am I looking for?" He bent over, craning his neck to peer around a stack of boxes.

"Oh, you'll see it." I was slowly edging back towards the door.

Now he became suspicious. He turned and gave me that look- half angry, half curious. His eyes flared with fury as he realized what I was doing, but it was too late. I lunged out of the door and slammed it shut behind me, hearing his muffled curses from behind the door. With shaking fingers I slammed down the master lock, jabbing it with the key until I was satisfied Derek wouldn't be able to get out. I sighed with relief, slumping against the wall.

"Chloe! Open the door!" he pounded on it but to no avail. That was good. I was counting on the fact that even his mega werewolf powers couldn't break open a door with a lock this big.

"Sorry, but I can't do that." I _did_ feel sorry, he'd hate me for what I was about to do. But this was necessary, and I knew if he _wasn't_ locked up there'd be no way he'd agree to my plan.

"What are you doing?" he snarled from the other side. "Let me out!" The door shuddered and I imagined him throwing himself against it. Still, it held.

I pulled out the note I had written in advance from my pocket. "Here." I shoved it partially beneath the door. The pounding stopped and the rest of the paper disappeared from view. There was a moment of silence and I guessed he was reading the note. Then he swore, even more colorfully than before and threw himself into his escape attempts with renewed intensity.

"Stop that! You're just going to hurt yourself!" I scolded. "You know you can't get out."

"Chloe, this is stupid!" he yelled making me wince. "Do you have a death wish?"

"No, and that's why I have to do it. We'll all die if we don't escape, and I'm the one who should do it- you _know_ that. Who else isn't a threat?"

"No!" he snarled. "You will not do this, Chloe."

"Not like you can stop me." I regretted the words as soon as I said them, but didn't apologize.

His voice took on a slightly gentler tone as he tried a different tactic and the shaking of the door stopped. "Please Chloe?" I knew how much effort that was taking him, and for a second I was tempted to surrender and admit the idiocy of my own plan. It's not like I _wanted_ to risk my life. It was just something that needed to be done. With that in mind, I made my decision.

"I'm leaving the key right here." I called through the door to him. "Simon will find you eventually."

"Chloe!" The door shuddered again but I was walking down the hall.

I passed Tori on my way to the kitchen, but she didn't seem suspicious. "Going outside?" she asked in a tone that was mildly pleasant, considering this was Tori after all.

"Yeah, just want some fresh air."

"I know what you mean. Another few days here and I will _literally_ murder someone. Want me to go with you?" I was shocked by the offer. As much as I had come to trust Tori as a companion, were we actually becoming friends? A few weeks ago I would have laughed at the very idea but now it seemed a promising possibility.

"Um, no thanks." I was almost reluctant to turn her rare offer down. "I need some time to think, you know?"

She shrugged and turned back to her magazine. "Suit yourself."

See, this is why I hadn't locked them _all_ up. Simon and Tori wouldn't try as hard to stop me from going outside. Derek, on the other hand, would have never let me step foot out of the house alone. The fact that he was the only one who could really track me was another reason it was him I'd trapped.

Outside the sun was setting, a brilliant orange orb snatching the warmth out of the world and running with it. I resolutely marched to the woods, pausing for only a second before shoving my way in. Ever twig beneath my feet shattered the silence like a gunshot, making me jump. I tried to creep through the forest as quietly as possible, but I still figured it was only a matter of time before the gunshot sounds were going to be coming from actual guns.

After a half hour, I heard a voice.

"Boo." I whirled at the sound, heart in my throat, expecting to see an armed Edison Group member with a gun aimed at my face. What I _did_ see was even worse.

I tried to keep my voice from shaking as I quietly acknowledged, "Royce."

"Aw, I didn't scare you?" He pouted, wiping away mock tears. I was tempted to just walk away but it was impossible to forget what he was capable of if I had my back turned. At least this way he couldn't catch me by surprise.

I crossed my arms and stood tall, the perfect movie heroine (if you could ignore the fact that I was actually shaking). "What do you want?"

He laughed. "What makes you think I want something?"

"If you didn't want something, you wouldn't be here. You'd be back at the house."

"Ah," he nodded, "You're right. I _would_ rather be at the house right now. But there's no one to scare there, is there? Not really. Not like I could scare you." As he spoke he had been slowly stepping towards me, a menacing predatory smile glued to his face. I took an involuntary step back. "After all," he was directly in front of me now and leaning even closer. "You're not very hard to scare." I flinched away from his face, mere inches in front of mine, so close I could see every freckle, every crease around the lips as he smirked at me. A rotting smell of decomposition poured from his mouth as he spoke, though that may have been just my imagination. Even so, I took another few steps back.

"Not very hard to scare at all." he repeated, still coming closer.

I couldn't just keep backing up like this. Any moment I would crash into something (or someone) and that would be the end. So next time he got close enough to lean forward I stood my ground. "Why are you here Royce?" I challenged.

"Why do you _think_ I'm here?" his voice was silky smooth with cunning as he bore down on me. Another inch forward and he would pass right through me.

"Go away." That only made him laugh; he drew back to laugh even harder.

"What if I say no?" he grinned.

I was getting seriously sick of his rhetorical questions. "Go ahead. Say no. Not going to make a difference." Already I was focusing on the pushing sensation of expelling him.

"No."

I didn't stop.

The smile disappeared a little from his face, leaving behind a somewhat annoyed expression. "I said _no_!"

"Too bad." his form was flickering a little now. I risked a glance behind me and saw a tree only two steps back. I pressed myself up against it, drawing strength from it's sturdiness. I ramped up the power a bit.

"No!" I watched him pick up a rock and fling it at me. He was desperate, his aim was off. I was able to duck easily, the rock clattering against the trunk behind me.

He picked up another one and this one actually hit my shoulder. I could no longer concentrate on dodging, I had to focus all my energy on getting rid of him.

It was mostly easy to ignore the rocks being thrown at me, as most of them merely glanced off the edges of my body. However, a minute later one collided with the center of my forehead, making me wince.

"Score one for the Royce!" he cheered, his image already becoming more opaque. I gritted my teeth against the pain, ignoring the blood dripping into my eye, and with a final shove sent him tumbling out of this realm.

He just vanished.

Relieved, I sunk to the ground, hand reaching up to probe the head injury his rock had inflicted. Fortunately it seemed like a shallow cut, the blood already stopping. I wiped at it with the corner of my sweatshirt sleeve for a minute before making myself stand again. It was a relief to be rid of him for now but I knew he could come back at any moment. Not to mention the Edison Group finding me…or even worse. Derek.

What I needed to focus on now was finding an escape route and then reporting it back to the others.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey readers! I can't believe how many people have **_**already **_**read my story- and so far I've only posted the first chapter! In my ficpress account none of my stories ever got so many hits after they were finished! Well anyway, thanks for reading my story (and hopefully reviewing ****J). This chapter is going to be told from the others' point of view, though mostly Simon's. **

_Where's Derek and Chloe now_? Simon thought to himself as he made his way down the upstairs hallway, peeking into abandoned rooms. _Probably making out somewhere_, his snide subconscious answered. _After all, they _do_ like each other. _

With a resolute shake of his head he dispelled that thought from his mind, storing it in the back most corner of his brain for dwelling on later. Right now he just had to _find_ them and tell them that Andrew had called to say he wouldn't be home until the next day. This was great news. It meant they'd be able to plan their escape tonight. Heck, with Andrew gone they might be able to actually _escape_ tonight.

He had reached the end of the hallway, the only door remaining the attic. Oddly enough, that was the only door that seemed to be bellowing his name.

"_Simon! Open the door!_" he recognized the furious tone of his foster brother. What had Derek gotten himself into now?

"Um…ok." Simon reached for the handle. It stuck. "It's locked."

"You think I don't _know_ that? Hence why I can't _get out_!"

"All right, chill. You don't happen to have the key in there, do you?"

"If I did would I still be stuck in here?"

"Yeah, guess not. Well, how did you get locked in there anyway?"

"_Chloe_." he spat the name.

"_Chloe_ locked you in the attic?" Simon asked, incredulous.

"Yeah now open the door!" Derek snapped.

"Ok. Do you happen to know where the key is or am I supposed to search this entire freakin' mansion?"

"Chloe said she left it out there for you."

"Hang on." Simon bent down to retrieve the small copper key from where he had just noticed it in the corner. "Just one second and-" the lock clicked open. "You're free!"

Derek shot past him, storming down the hallway without so much as a thanks. "Where are you _going_?" Simon demanded, chasing him.

"To find Chloe."

"Ok, stop." Derek didn't so much as pause in his steady charge down the stairs. "I _said_ stop!" he repeated.

This time Derek whirled around, glaring up at him from several steps down. "_What_?"

"What the hell is going on?"

"Read this." Derek pulled a folded scrap of paper from his jeans pocket and tossed it to Simon, waiting for him to read it. He gingerly unfolded it, already scared at what it would contain that would piss Derek off so much.

_Guys, I'm going to go find an escape route. So far we don't know how many people are out there __or__ what's the fastest way through the woods, and we all know we can't escape until that is figured out. We also all know that one of us has to go out there to find out, and that I should be the one to go. You know the reasons. Don't follow me, though. That would kind of defeat the purpose of me going alone. Hopefully I'll be back soon. If not, just keep trying to find a way to escape. We'll meet up with each other later. _

_P.S. Sorry Derek_

Simon let out a heavy breath through his nose, refolding the paper. "Well," he sighed, "at least she's brave."

"And stupid. Let's go." Derek turned away.

"Wait. Are you sure we should follow her? I mean, she _did_ say we shouldn't follow her…"

"Chloe cannot take care of herself." he said it with absolute conviction.

"Dude, you're being too hard on her. She's the strongest girl I know-"

"Me too. Which is why I have to go make sure she doesn't get herself killed." that was obviously his final word on the matter, so Simon resigned himself to following him.

"Where have you- what's going on?" Tori, sitting at the kitchen table with a magazine, quickly switched questions as she caught sight of their faces.

"Have you seen Chloe?"

"Yeah," Tori's expression was confused and wary. "She just left, like, an hour ago. Said she was going for a walk, needed some time to think. Why?"

Derek cursed. "You just let her go?"

"Um, yeah. I'm not her babysitter. She can go wherever the hell she wants to."

"Not if it means going into the woods when there are guys with _guns_ out there!"

"Look, we don't know that for sure. So what if the girl wants some fresh air? Can't say I blame her. This house is getting smaller by the minute."

Derek shook his head, grumbling under his breath, and pushed out the kitchen door. "What's up with him?" Tori mouthed. Simon just shrugged.

"He's worried about Chloe. He doesn't think she can handle herself." he explained.

"So now we have to go look for her, don't we?" Tori sighed.

"Yep." He followed Derek out the door, not bothering to check if Tori was coming too. He knew she would be.

"Well what are we going to do? Search the whole forest for her?" Tori demanded.

"No." Simon jerked his head at Derek who was crouching at the outskirts of the forest.

"Right. Wolfhound." She wrinkled her nose slightly.

"She went this way." Derek loped off into the forest, probably assuming they would wait there. Instead, Simon and Tori (who was grumbling under her breath) took off after him, blundering through the forest. Every so often Derek would turn around to glare at them and press a finger to his lips. Tori would roll her eyes but both would try and silence their passage, not that it did any good. It was a wonder they weren't discovered right away.

Derek would occasionally bend over and examine, or _sniff_, the ground for traces of Chloe. Their progress was slow and bumbling, leaving the morale for all three of them low after only half an hour of trudging through the undergrowth.

The morale only dipped even lower when one sharply distinct sound pierced the quiet. A gunshot. Simultaneously they tensed and froze, waiting for a rejoinder. None came.

"You don't think-" Tori said after a moment.

"No. They probably just shot a squirrel or something." Derek shook his head firmly. "Actually, it probably wasn't even a gunshot. It was probably a deer stepping on a twig, or something like that."

"Yeah. Probably." Simon agreed quickly, although he didn't miss that Derek subtly changed the direction they were heading in to go towards the source of the sound.

Derek was now stopping every few minutes to stoop to the ground, hesitating each time just long enough to check for scents. He must not have been finding anything because each time he stood up his expression was twisted with disappointment.

A few minutes later, though, he didn't stand up right away. Instead, he stayed bent low to the ground with his features screwed up in concentration.

"Bro?" Simon asked out of a minute. Derek didn't answer. "Do you smell anything?"

"I think so…" His nostrils flared. "I think it's…Chloe. But there's something else…"

"Oh brother," Tori rolled her eyes.

"What?" Simon encouraged.

"I smell Chloe and-" Suddenly he went rigid, head snapping up. "Blood."

"_What_?" Simon and Tori demanded in unison, but Derek ignored them. He stood up and sprinted into the murky forest gloom, leaving them both behind.

**Duh, Duh, Duh *cue dramatic music*. So? What do you think will happen? Is Chloe going to be ok? I can't wait to hear your guesses!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I tried to type this really fast because I kind of left the last chapter off on a cliff hanger and I know **_**I **_**at least would have been driven crazy by this had I been the reader. So sorry if it's not great, but that would be the reason why. This chapter really starts to bring in the whole "damsel in distress" angle that was one of my favorite parts of the original series (even though Chloe could totally kick-butt when necessary). Hope you like it! **

"Chloe?" I heard someone call horrifyingly loud, the sound heavy with panic.

"Derek?" I whimpered, naming the person I most hoped it was. I staggered towards the sound.

"Chloe!" In front of me the undergrowth shuddered, and then Derek was running towards me, still fifteen feet away.

Weak with relief (and blood loss) I stumbled another step forward. "Are you ok? I thought I smelled-" He fell silent and shuddered to a stop five feet away, shock etched on his face. I had just stepped into a shaft of moonlight leaking down from a part in the trees. I could only imagine what he was seeing- me even paler and necromancer-y than usual, hands pressed to my side against the blossoming crimson pool blooming across my shirt, blood dripping down my face. "Blood." he finished weakly, looking as if _he_ was the one about to collapse.

"Derek run!" I choked. This was enough to shatter his surprise, and he _did_ run- just not towards the house.

"No-" I protested weakly as he dashed to my side.

"You need help. Urgently." he grabbed my shoulders and looked into my eyes. "Are you all right to get back to the house?"

I couldn't even get the energy to glare at him. "Fine." He slung my arm over his shoulder and we took a step, but my knees gave out. I collapsed on the ground in a dirty, bloody heap.

"Guess that's a no." he crouched next to me. "Ok, then, we'll get help here." I blinked up at him, unsure what he meant. It became apparent when he took off his shirt and bunched it up. "Ssh…" he soothed, I didn't realize I'd been whimpering softly. "Just lie still." I did as he asked, clenching my fists and squeezing my eyes shut. "Ok, this might hurt." he sounded reluctant. He pried my hands away and pressed the shirt against the wound instead. I bit my lip to stifle the scream, so hard I drew blood. "Sorry, sorry." he muttered, trying to staunch the flow of blood. I opened my eyes and saw the shirt he was pressing against my side was now almost completely red.

"Derek?" someone was crashing through the woods, startlingly loud after the only sound being our combined heavy breathing.

"We're over here." Derek called back tersely. Simon shouldered his way towards us.

"Did you find Chlo-" my name died on his lips as he caught sight of us, me lying in a puddle of blood. "What happened?" he moved swiftly to crouch beside Derek. I missed what he said next, my hearing was ringing, but I did notice Tori's arrival.

"I'm going to _kill_ her!" she raved, batting aside a low hanging branch. "Making us all tramp through the wilderness in the freaking middle of the night so she could try and play hero-" like Simon she froze when she saw our huddle. "Oh god," she gasped, looking horrified. "No, no, no, no, no!"

"Tori, we have to get her back to the house." Derek grunted. I couldn't see his face anymore, everything had gone blurry. "I'm going to need you to scout ahead, see if there's anyone ahead-"

"No," I croaked, making them all pause and look at me. "You guys run! They already know we're trying to escape, and they have guns."

"That's obvious." Tori muttered, looking pointedly at my stomach, but I kept going.

"Don't give them the opportunity to increase security. Go _now_!"

"But Chloe," Simon argued. "You need help. Like, serious help. You can't run away right now."

"You guys go. I'll catch up." I tried to push myself to a sitting position but Derek lightly shoved me back down.

"No." he growled.

"You have to go _now_." I repeated.

"Chloe-" Simon tried to argue.

"We're not leaving you behind. So stop being stupid." Derek snapped.

"But-" I winced as a pebble flew up and hit me in the face.

"What?" Derek jumped up, looking around as if that would let him see the ghost.

I glanced up at the towering trees expecting to see Royce, but it was Liz I saw instead. "Sorry, but you weren't paying attention." she explained.

"What's wrong?" she was biting her lip nervously.

"Um…I know you're hurt and everything but you guys _really_ need to get back to the house."

"Why? We have to escape, not go back." I was vaguely aware of Simon, Derek, and Tori watching me cautiously as if fearing more stuff was going to go flying. At least they knew I was talking to a ghost and not just myself. Whatever else I was, I wasn't crazy. Yet.

"They're coming." she looked over me to the forest behind.

"How many?" I pushed myself up with one arm, and this time Derek didn't force me back down.

"Only two, but they both have guns. And funny glasses- night vision goggles? Either way, you guys have to get out of here."

"Chloe?" Derek was asking. "Is it Liz?" I nodded but missed what she said next.

"Sorry, what?" I asked.

Liz rolled her eyes at me. "I know you want to escape, but you can't risk it. Not tonight. They already know where you are, Chloe."

"How?" I asked panicked. This was a new and frightening twist.

She blinked at me. "I don't know. But they have a GPS type thingy and its signal is leading them here."

"We've got to go. Now." I tried to stand but fell down instantly. That didn't stop me from trying again, though.

"Chloe." Derek caught my face and pinned me to the ground. "Stop." I lay still. "What. Is. Going. On?" he spoke the words carefully and deliberately.

"Liz says there are two guys, headed this way." I explained.

"Armed?"

"Guns and night vision goggles."

"We've got to leave. Now." he stood up and brushed the dirt off himself. Tori and Simon looked worried but followed his lead.

"You guys have to run." I tried one more time, but no one said anything. Wordlessly Derek bent over and scooped me up in his arms, cradling me against his chest. I managed a weak protest but didn't really have the energy to complain. It was curled up against his warm chest, rocked by his steady lope, that I at last blacked out.

**Confused? Sorry, I wasn't sure where exactly to fit in an explanation in this chapter, because Chloe's kind of dying…But anyway, it should be explained in the next chapter. Long story short- the gunshot they heard **_**was**_** Chloe (poor Chloe ****L) but they didn't capture her or anything. She's not entirely sure why, but she doesn't stick around to find out. She wandered through the forest until Derek found her…and you know the rest. Sorry that wasn't made more clear in the story. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Yay! If you're reading this it means you don't think reading my story is a **_**total**_** waste of time (or you're just really, really bored). I still can't believe how many hits and reviews it is getting! But anyway, please let me know what you think of it. I love to hear suggestions and criticism. Even if you think it's the worst story you've ever read, I'd still like to know. Thanks!**

I woke up tucked into an unfamiliar bed. The first thing I noticed was my wound, which throbbed with more pain than I'd ever felt before. How many times had I written in that a character gets shot? They always manage to bestow some plot-changing wisdom before they actually die. So why did I feel so stupid? At least I didn't seem to be dying.

"How are we going to escape now?" I recognized Tori's voice.

"I don't know!" came Derek's frustrated growl. "But why is everyone so hung up on the escape when Chloe-"

"Chill bro." That was Simon. "she's going to be ok. Now we have to make the escape plan."

"She should have woken up by now!" Derek fretted. "She should have…"

"She'll wake up soon. Get over yourself, wolf boy." Tori. "I just wish she hadn't almost killed herself so we could have gotten away last night-"

"Are you saying you think we should've listened to her? Taken her advice and just left her there to die?" Derek's voice was colder than ice.

"Of course not! Just, you have to admit that would have been the practical thing. You know, survival of the fittest and what not-"

"If that's how you feel than maybe you shouldn't be here with us." Simon's sounded more angry than I'd ever heard. I figured it was time to break this fight up.

"Guys?" I croaked, doing my best to play the dying damsel in distress. Anything to get them to stop arguing.

"Chloe!" Derek put his face close to mine. "How do you feel?"

"Fine." I scooted myself up, wincing as it hurt my stomach, and sat looking into all their anxious faces. "What'd I miss?"

"Well…" Simon looked at Tori and Derek as if for permission to be the one to explain. Neither of them said anything so he carried on. "Derek carried you back to the house-"

"Any trouble?" I interrupted.

"No. Quiet escape. Thank god." Simon explained. "But anyway, we brought you up here and…" here he hesitated, reluctant. "Fixed you up, I guess. There was a…lot of blood."

"But no more now." I guessed, pushing the sheet back and lifting up the corner of my (clean) shirt. A makeshift bandage that looked suspiciously like a ripped up t-shirt was wound around my waist, dotted with crimson but not soaked.

"Yeah. At least we stopped the blood…" again, he looked troubled.

"But…?" I prompted.

"You know, movie girl. Think about it- what does the main character always have to do to save someone who's been shot?"

"Stop the blood?" I guessed.

"And then?"

It dawned on me. "Remove the bullet." the hard part, the painful part. Of course.

"Bingo." he smiled slightly but it didn't reach his eyes. "But we decided we'd better wait to get to a doctor. So, just don't do anything strenuous for a while, ok?"

I mumbled an incoherent answer but didn't feel up to doing anything strenuous at all for the moment.

Derek suddenly glided from the room. I looked after him questioningly then turned back to Simon.

"Who knows." he shrugged, reading the question in my eyes. "I've learned to stop questioning Derek's actions and just wait for him to explain himself."

I slumped back against the pillow to wait for Derek to reappear. It was only a moment later that he did, clutching a juice box and an apple. "Here." he handed them to me. "You lost a lot of blood. You need to replace your blood sugar or whatever." I took a long drag of the juice box and a bite out of the apple.

"Satisfied?" he nodded.

"So," I said after a moments silence. "Where am I?" I was sure we were still in the jail house, but I didn't recognize the room.

"Your room." Derek looked mildly surprised I didn't recognize it. Once he said that though, I realized he was right. The thing that threw me off was the fact that I was in the other bed, seeing a different angle of the room. That and the fact that all the curtains were gone, as were the sheets on my bed. I guess it wasn't a t-shirt for my bandages after all.

"Why am I in Tori's bed?" He rolled his eyes like it should have been obvious.

"Because your bed was soaked in blood?" he suggested.

Simon paled. "Dude, _please_ don't bring up those images right now."

"Easy for _you_ to say."Tori snapped. "You weren't the one who had to _wash_ those sheets!"

I tuned out their argument as I realized what my location meant. This was the bed Austin Banks died in. This is where I'd seen his blood forming a rug on the floor. These sheets may have once been soaked in _his_ blood. I told myself that was ridiculous, what were the odds of those sheets ending up on the same bed? But still I couldn't suppress an eerie shiver.

Derek glanced at me and left the room again, leaving behind an annoyed Simon. "What's his problem _now_?" he whined.

He was back even quicker this time, though. A blanket was draped over me. I guess he'd mistaken the shiver for a sign of coldness. I didn't bother to correct him.

"So, what now?" I asked blatantly when no one said anything.

"We can't escape, if that's what your asking." Simon said.

"Why not? I'm ok now." I made to climb out of bed but a sickening wave of pain sent me sprawling back down. "Kind of."

"Even if you _were_ ok, which you clearly aren't, we couldn't escape." Derek said. "In case you've forgotten, there are guys with _guns_ out there." I couldn't argue with that.

"So we're just going to sit here and _wait_ for them to kill us?" Tori spoke up. "Is that what's going to happen?"

"What else would you suggest?" Simon snapped through gritted teeth. Here we go again.

I turned away this time, not even bothering to stop them. I let my gaze wander out the window, drinking in the square of sunlight and stray tree branches. I could almost imagine us climbing out the window and down the branches, fleeing with the sun from this horrible place. I admit, it was a promising thought.

So intent on the trees, it took me a moment to notice the painfully familiar face grinning at me. Royce.

I gasped, heart pounding. As if in response to his presence the gash on my forehead from one of his rocks throbbed. Through the dust on the outside of the window he drew a finger, deliberately scrawling "I'll be waiting for you." It was something out of a horror movie, the cheesy bad kind, but it still struck fear into my heart.

"Chloe? What-" Derek followed my gaze to the window then cursed. Of course, since it was a telekinetic ghost anything they wrote would be visible to everyone. "Royce?" I nodded, unable to tear my gaze away from his taunting face. "Leave her alone!" Derek growled at the window. He probably didn't know Royce was laughing at him.

With a grunt of frustration Derek disappeared _again_, bringing back a towel which he hung over the window in place of a curtain. As Royce's face vanished, my paralysis did too. I turned my face away from the window to meet three pairs of eyes, two frightened one smoldering, all anxious.

No one dared to break the silence until finally I yawned. "Sorry." I muttered as they all blinked back to focus, coming out of their own worlds.

"No, you should get some sleep." Simon advised.

"Yeah, wouldn't want our energy bunny running down." Tori added, though without the usual malice. She must really be worried about me.

"If you're sure…" I didn't really want to object. Sleep sounded promising at the moment.

"Go to bed, Chloe." Derek advised.

"Ok." I hunkered down under the blankets then looked at them expectantly.

"Oh, right." Simon smacked his head. "Yeah, all of us staring at you trying to sleep is probably more than a little creepy. Sorry." he pointedly looked away.

"Um, thanks but you guys don't have to stay here. I think I'll be ok." I was almost wishing they would argue.

They did. "No one's going to leave you alone, Chloe." Derek said.

"But-"

"Don't worry, we'll keep an eye on you in shifts." Simon assured me.

"But-" I tried again.

"I'll take the first shift." I wasn't surprised.

"Ok. We'll try and get some sleep too." Simon nudged Tori out of the room. "You _will_ remember to wake us up, right?"

"'Course." Derek called.

Simon muttered something like, "no you won't," but then he was gone, taking Tori with him.

I leaned back against the mound of pillows behind my head and closed my eyes, listening to the steady sound of Derek breathing across the room to banish all thoughts of Royce and bullets from my mind. It was only minutes before I was asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Get ready for some Chlerek moments! Sorry in advance if it gets too sappy…**

I woke up several times during the night. Each time, Derek was there watching me, green eyes glowing cat-like in the darkness. I didn't say anything, just rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. What was the point in insisting he get some sleep when I knew he'd never go for it?

When I woke up to sun streaming in through the window I figured I'd been asleep long enough. I made a show of yawning and stretching for Derek. "Good morning!"

"How do you feel?" were his first words.

"Great!" This was a lie and I could tell he wasn't fooled but he didn't say anything. "So, are Tori and Simon awake yet?" he shook his head no. I fell silent for a moment, tensing myself for the yelling, but it never came. Finally, I had to ask. "So, am I in trouble?"

He clenched his hands into fists by his sides but when he spoke it was surprisingly calm. "You already know what you did was one of the stupidest things you've done yet, and you almost got yourself _killed_, as well as ruining pretty much any chance of escape we had before," I winced. "So you don't need me to remind you of that." I was tempted to point out he just did but figured that'd be counter productive.

"I'm furious, of course," I had expected that, "but more than anything I'm just glad you didn't bleed to death." my heart did a little flip. "That would have really upset Simon." it fell again.

"Sorry." I mumbled, looking away.

He sighed. "I know. And that's part of the reason why I can't stay angry at you." We didn't say anything for a while. Pretty soon Simon poked his sleep-tousled head into the room.

"She awake?"

"Yeah." I answered. He grinned and stepped fully into the room.

"Still alive I see." I rolled my eyes at him. "How'd you sleep?"

"Great." I said.

At the same time Derek said, "Terribly." of course it was _him_ Simon listened to.

"Why? Anything happen?"

"No, she just kept waking up."

"Oh." Simon nodded, unsurprised. "Yeah, guess you have a reason to lose sleep, what with being shot and all."

"Speaking of, we should probably change her bandages now." Derek said.

"Good point. I'll go rip up your t-shirt, bro." Simon grinned and left the room

"No, use a curtain or sheet or something!" Derek growled after him. I could hear the laugh from the hallway.

"So you're not going to rip your shirt off to save me?" I teased Derek.

"I already did two nights ago, remember?" he pointed out. "Not everything's a movie."

I pretended to pout. "You are the worst hero ever."

I expected him to laugh or at least grin, but instead his eyes turned glazed and distant. "Hey!" I tried to get his attention. "I was _kidding_."

"I know." he still looked far away.

"Do you need me to list all the times you've saved my life in the past few weeks? If so, I hope you've got a while." I hoped he didn't hear the near desperation in my voice.

Simon's return broke the tense silence. He was carrying antiseptic from the bathroom and a shredded bed sheet tied together in crude knots. Hardly top of the line bandages, but they'd work. "Ready?" he asked me. I nodded.

Derek lumbered to his feet and joined Simon standing next to my bed. I looked up at both of them uncertainly. "Um…if you could just lift up your shirt a little…" Simon's face flushed with embarrassment. I'm sure my face was just as red as I did as he asked, raising it up just enough to reveal the red speckled bandage.

I sat up and looked away as Derek unwound the bandage, revealing the stinging wound to the air. I didn't dare glance down, not trusting myself not to be the squeamish blonde who fainted at the sight of blood.

He used a cotton ball to swab antiseptic across it, making me flinch. I had to grit my teeth to keep back the shriek building in my throat as it stung. Then Simon was wrapping the new bandage around my waist, the coarse fabric tugging at my injury. I only hoped none of my agony showed on my face. The ordeal only took a few minutes, but it seemed to have lasted a lot longer.

"Sorry." Simon said afterwards, standing awkwardly by my bed as Derek carried the bloodied bandage to the trash downstairs. "I know that was probably hell for you."

"Nah, it wasn't that bad." I fibbed. "Besides, it was necessary."

"I wish it wasn't." His words, thankfully, weren't accusatory.

"Ugh. Is she awake yet?" Tori slouched into the room to sink onto the empty mattress.

"Hi Tori." I smiled wanly at her.

"You're looking better." she accused, glaring at me from eyes that hung with circles.

"Yeah. It's almost entirely stopped bleeding now."

"Good to know. Now that you're not in immediate danger of dying, can we please work on the escape plans?"

"Good idea." I hastened to put in, wanting to make sure they knew how sorry I was to have butchered the original escape.

"Not to be the parade rainer or anything," Simon sat down next to Tori. "But we do remember they have _guns_ right?"

"We'll take that into consideration." Derek perched on the end of my bed. "But the alternative would be to just wait here, which would be definitely not be in our best interests in the long run."

We all muttered agreements. "So we should escape now?" Tori guessed. "Not stick around here?" Though no one said anything, I saw all three of them glance at me. I felt my cheeks flush a bright red and stared hard at the wall so I wouldn't have to meet any of their eyes.

"I think we're ok to wait around here for a little bit longer," Derek sighed at last. He didn't have to add the last part. _It's not like we have a choice._

"Yeah, they won't find us right away." Simon added quickly.

I knew the right thing to do was argue that they should just leave and try and escape, but I had already tried that and it didn't work. Besides, I was really too selfish to offer again.

"So until…the time is right." Until Chloe heals. "We should continue searching the house for more clues as to what the Edison Group's trying to accomplish by keeping us here. And I think we should try to learn more about Andrew and Margaret's involvement. We all agree we can't trust them now, right?"

"Not necessarily…" Simon pointed out. "I mean, yeah I agree we shouldn't tell them anything escaping. But…I don't think we should rule out trusting them completely. Not yet at least. We need more proof." Tori and Derek looked skeptical but I sympathized with Simon. He grew up with Andrew. He had been one of the few stable adults in his life. Him becoming the enemy would be a hard blow for Simon, who wasn't ready to give up hope on him just yet.

Of course, Derek also was raised to trust Andrew. But even I had noticed the subtle fear Andrew now treated him with, and that had to sting. As far as Derek was concerned, Andrew had already betrayed him.

"Ok. We'll do some more research on them. Tori?" Derek turned to her expectantly.

She sighed, standing up. "Computer Geek on duty. But I want someone to come with me. No way am I tramping through this ginormous creepy house alone with killers after us."

"Fine. I'll go with you." Simon also sighed as he stood and stretched. "Derek?"

"I'll stay here." No shocker there.

"Ok. Be back later." The two turned and left.

"You know, you don't _have_ to stay and be my bodyguard." I pointed out once they had gone. "I don't think I'm going to die of blood loss in the near future and no one can really get to me from here _to_ kill me, so-"

"Tori was right." There's a first. "Buddy system's not a terrible idea."

I sighed. "But you should be helping them look for clues and stuff. Not babysitting me."

"We've got plenty of time to search the house."

"Yeah. Because of me." I said bitterly.

"Well, you were just doing what you thought was best." Derek softened his tone.

"And almost got myself killed because of it and totally ruined any chance of escape for us." Great, I was crying now. Silent tears were leaking down my cheeks. I only hoped Derek wouldn't notice them. I turned away from him but his finger under my chin brought my face back towards him.

"Hey- don't cry. You were right, it had to be done. And you _were_ the best one for the job. I just wish…"

"It had actually worked?" I supplied.

"Not exactly what I would have said, but yeah." he grinned slightly, making me sniffle and smile back. His green eyes bore into mine, promising it would be ok; and I believed him. Our faces were mere inches apart. All we had to do now was lean forward a little and our lips would meet-

"Hey Derek!" Simon called up the stairs, shattering any potential the moment may have had.

"Yeah?" He pulled away and stood up, walking to the doorway to better hear Simon.

"We think we found something. You wanna come check it out?"

Derek glanced back at me. I made shooing motions at him. "I repeat, I don't need you to baby-sit me. Go see what they found."

"I'll be right back to fill you in." he promised before walking out of the room.


	6. Chapter 6

**Oh wow, really sorry about taking so long to write this chapter. Hope everyone will still read it! I know most of you are probably ready to strangle Simon at this point, but you have to feel bad for the guy. I mean, the girl he loves is in love with his brother? That can't be fun. Soooooo…I made a poll about his love life on my profile. If you have even an ounce of sympathy for Simon please take my poll and decide who he will love (although I have to add something to one of the options and can't figure out how yet…FYI in my story Tori and Simon are ****not**** brother and sister). **

It was only a minute after Derek left that Liz arrived. I gasped as she suddenly materialized at the foot of my bed but she held a finger to her lips for quiet.

"I didn't want to scare the others," she explained.

My heart sank with dread. "Scare them?"

"Yeah. I was doing some scouting after you guys retreated back here- glad to see you're ok, by the way- and I think I saw all the people hunting for you in the woods…"

"How many?"

"There were four pairs of two that I saw- so eight. At least."

"Did you recognize anyone?"

She bit her lip, avoiding my gaze. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about, Chloe." I waited patiently for her to continue. "I saw Margaret and Andrew." Though I had been expecting it, the knowledge still stung.

"Any sign of Gwen?" I dared asking. She shook her head.

"No, but as I said I only _think_ I found everyone. For all I know, there could have been fifty more people out there."

I sighed, hands twisting the hem of the blanket on my bed. "Ok, so we now know for sure that Margaret and Andrew have gone over to the dark side-"

She muttered a pessimistic "or been there all along."

"-and maybe Gwen too."

"Yeah, but there's one more thing…" from the reluctant look on her face I knew she had yet to get to the worst news. I internally tensed, fearing how anything could get worse. "I also saw Kit. Chloe, I saw Simon and Derek's _dad_."

I felt as if I'd been punched in the face, doused with cold water. It was that mind-numbing shock of everything you believe being reversed. Suddenly I knew why Liz hadn't wanted to talk to me in front of the others. If I felt this devastated about a guy I had never met betraying us, how would his _kids_ feel? "Are you sure?" I managed at last, clinging onto the hope that she was mistaken. "I mean, you've never seen him before, right?"

"I'm sorry Chloe," she stared into my eyes earnestly, "his partner, Margaret, called him Kit. And," she gulped, "he looked _lot_ like Simon, minus the blonde hair."

"No." I was talking more to myself than her. "It _can't_ be him- it _can't_. He's the one we're supposed to find! He's the one who's supposed to _fix_ everything!"

"Chloe-" Liz froze, head cocked, finger back to her lips. I held my breath to listen to the soft clump of footsteps coming back up the stairs. "Gotta go!" Liz gave me one more sympathetic smile before blinking out, leaving me alone to bear the weight of the heavy knowledge of Kit's betrayal.

Derek walked in but froze several feet away, eyeing me intensely. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah." I had to get better control over my emotions. I wasn't going to tell them, not yet at least. "My head just kind of hurts, that's all."

"Right." his face didn't lose the suspicion but then again, Derek _always_ looks suspicious. "Want me to see if we can find some Advil or something?

"Thanks, but I'll be fine. Tell me what Simon and Tori found."

He plopped down on the opposite mattress, crossing his legs and toying with the zipper of his jacket absently. The sight of Derek fidgeting alarmed me, he was truly deep in thought. "Oh, just some science journal type things. You know, about us and our powers. Starting from when we first arrived here." he said.

I wasn't surprised but I gave a little gasp. "What did they say?"

"It was mostly observations, not too many opinions. Just little comments and facts and stuff like 'Victoria can throw a fireball twenty feet.' That kind of thing."

"What did it say about me?" I braved asking, feeling inclined to ask.

"You can read it for yourself." he tossed a thick packet of papers at me. "We printed the whole thing out so you could read it for us." I could tell by the way he was avoiding my gaze that they had already read it and were just trying to give me something to do so I didn't feel bad.

I set the papers down on the bed next to me without glancing at them. "Who wrote them?"

"Andrew Margaret and Gwen. Our 'mentors'" he made air quotations around 'mentors.'

"So there was nothing…"

"About me?" he barked a bitter laugh. "No." I couldn't fathom why this fact seemed to disappoint him but decided not to dwell on it.

"So Margaret, Andrew, and Gwen can't be trusted." I was almost relieved that they had been able to come to this conclusion themselves and I hadn't had to be the one to tell them.

"Not necessarily," he frowned, choosing his words carefully. "As Simon pointed out, they could have just wanted to keep track of our powers so we could learn more about them and how to control them." His expression was shadowed with doubt and I knew he was just trying to be this nonchalant for my sake so I wouldn't worry.

I sighed. "Derek?" for pretty much the first time since this conversation started, he looked right at me.

"Yeah?"

"While you were gone, Liz came." I took a deep breath. "She said she saw Margaret and Andrew helping search the forest for us."

He let out a heavy breath through his nose, turning back to the zipper he was fiddling with. "I only wish I could say I was surprised," he sighed. "This is really going to kill Simon, though."

I was instantly glad I had decided not to tell them about their dad. They'd have to be told eventually, of course, but there was no reason for them to find out now. "Does he have to know?" I asked, thinking about how crushed Simon would be because of Andrew.

Again Derek let out a long breath. "Yeah, we should tell him. In fact, I'd better go down there now and tell them to call off the search. It's not like hunting through his computer will help us anymore."

"Well, maybe it will." I tried to sound optimistic. "Who knows what other information is on there and I bet our little computer geek could extract it all-"

"Yeah, you're right. We shouldn't stop searching the laptop, at least not yet. Besides, it's probably one of our best clues right now. But I really _should_ tell Simon."

I nodded my reluctant agreement. "Did you want me to tell him for you? I mean, would that make it easier for you because you trusted him too-"

"Me?" there was that bitter laugh again. "No, I didn't trust him. Not really, ever since we got here. But I think it'd be best if I was the one who told him."

"True." I conceded. It would be easier for him to hear the news from his brother.

"But hey- Chloe?" he had been walking towards the doorway but he turned back to look at me. "Thanks. And tell Liz thanks too."

He left, leaving me alone to wonder how the hell I'll ever be able to tell the guys about their dad.

**Ok, here's where I really start to veer away from the original story. Sorry Kit, I just thought it'd make an interesting plot twist. BTW- double thumbs up to lululara on your plot guess…you know what I mean :) I hope knowing doesn't ruin it for you when I get to that part…**


	7. Chapter 7

**ADVANCE WARNING: EXTREME FLUFF- READ AT YOUR OWN RISK**

The rest of the day passed in a mostly uneventful fashion- a huge relief. Derek told Simon and Tori the news and Tori completely flipped out, screaming "I _knew_ it!" and punching the wall. Simon on the other hand didn't say much of anything. He just holed up in his room for an hour.

Thankfully, he emerged for lunch (a delectable course of peanut butter sandwiches eaten in my room). Throughout the informal meal we were all watching him out of the corners of our eyes, watching for any sign of discontent, but he seemed fine, if not a little quiet. At one point I asked if he was ok and he nodded, saying "Yeah." And that was the final word on the matter.

After lunch everyone drifted off to play detective. Simon and Derek decided to search the attic together for more clues (although what else they hoped to find there after all the other search attempts I have no idea). Tori wanted to keep examining the laptop but she was too scared to stay downstairs alone so she unplugged it and brought it into my room. Not that I minded, I was just glad for the company.

With the rest of them being useful, I decided to read the journals Derek had printed for me. It didn't take long, there were only a few pages on each of us. And he was right, they _were_ just observations. Just reading it brought back bittersweet memories of doing science labs at school.

Under my name was a detailed account of the whole cemetery experience, although Margaret thoughtfully left out the detail that she _forced_ me to use my full powers. _her powers are completely uncontrollable,_ she wrote, _she is __dangerous__._ That simple sentence was the only opinionated statement, which made it sting like a slap in the face. The line emphasizing "dangerous" hurt even more.

After I read through all the journals finding no more insight than the fact that all our mentors (Margaret in particular) are total ***-holes, I reread them. And re-reread them. I probably spent three hours pouring over those simple documents, searching for some hidden message that I had somehow missed before. As far as I could tell, there was none.

Not only was the information in the documents (or lack-thereof) troubling, but I still had the recently gained knowledge about Kit resting on my chest. Add in a pinch of abandonment, a smidgen of romance confusion, and a dash of recent injury. Stir well and bake on high stress levels to get a delicious migraine. Yum.

"Are you finding anything?" I sighed at last, turning to Tori. She was sitting cross-legged on the bare mattress, back leaning against the headrest. The screen from the computer illuminated her face with an eerie white glow in the growing darkness as the sun faded to dusk. Derek had warned us before not to turn on any lights in case people were watching the house.

"Tori?" I tried again when her transfixed gaze on the computer in front of her didn't waver.

"What?" she snapped her head up, blinking as if waking from a long sleep.

"Did you find anything useful?"

"Not really…"

"Not 'really'? So does this mean you _did_ find something?" I pressed.

"No." her eyes flashed with sudden hostility. "I didn't find anything."

I could tell she was lying but didn't feel like promoting her wrath at the moment. The last thing I needed was to get her _more _angry with me. "Ok, ok. I didn't find anything either. Do you think the guys did?"

"Of course not. They've already searched that upper hell hole, like, ten times already. If they didn't find anything then, they won't find anything now."

"All right, miss optimistic." I muttered, discouraged. She either didn't hear me or chose to ignore me.

Instead, she changed the subject. "What do you miss most?"

"Huh?"

"You know, what do you miss most? About _normal_ life? Not this on-the-run crap."

I thought about it, remembering all the things in my life I used to take for granted. School, daily showers, a full wardrobe, regular meals, drama class, weekly trips to the movie theatre, trustable adults… "Homework." I said at last.

She choked on her laugh. "_Homework_? Please tell me you're kidding and not just a _total_ loser nerd!"

"Well," I fidgeted, knowing what I said was weird but still not able to change how I felt. "It was…reliable, I guess. You could always count on it to be the same tedious workload every night. And yeah, it _is_ kind of nerdy, but it just…oh, I can't explain it." And I couldn't. When I had it, I hated it. Now that I don't, though, I missed its stability. It was constant, normal, and somewhat impractical. Everything my life now wasn't.

To my immense surprise, Tori was nodding slowly, deep in thought. "I didn't think of it that way before, but I think you're right." she paused, chewing on her lip. "Yeah, you're definitely right. I miss homework too- although if you tell _anyone_ that I will _kill_ you."

I smiled and she smiled back. Yes, we were definitely having a bonding moment.

Unfortunately, that moment was shattered when the guys came in shaking the dust out of their clothes. "Might I just point out that we're the only ones to have gone up there in about a millennia?" Simon pointed out, running his hand through his hair and grimacing when it came out white and powdery.

"Does this mean you didn't find anything?" I asked.

"No surprise there." Tori muttered. Friendship moment over- the pessimist was back.

"No," Derek sighed. "But we'll try again tomorrow when it's light out again." I was tempted to point out that if they hadn't found anything after three hours of searching today they wouldn't find anything tomorrow but decided not to mention anything if it gave them a plan. Derek always needed a plan, goal, mission…

Dinner was quiet (microwavable spaghetti and meatballs) and then, since it was pretty much too dark to do anything else, we went to sleep. Like the night before, Derek decided to stay up with me.

"You are aware you need to sleep too, right?" Simon crossed his arms when he heard Derek's decision.

"Not tired." he grunted, settling onto the mattress and crossing his own arms.

"Getting some sleep isn't going to get your girlfriend killed, wolf boy." He glared at Tori. "What if the Edison Group attacks us tomorrow? Don't you want to be rested so you can kick their scrawny butts for us?" A flicker of doubt blinked across his face, so fast I almost missed it, but he merely said "They don't know we're here."

"Derek, just go to bed." I urged. He shook his head. "Well, if you're determined to stay here, can you at least get some rest? You don't have to be _awake_ to be on guard."

He gave me an exasperated look. "I'm sorry but this matter is closed. I'm not going anywhere, so the rest of you can go to bed."

"Fine, but wake us up for our shifts, ok?" Simon paused in the doorway, knowing Derek wasn't going to surrender.

"Sure." Shaking his head, Simon went to the room across the hall. Tori, shooting one final frustrated glare at Derek, followed him.

"Goodnight Derek," I whispered.

"Goodnight." his voice was soft and alluring in the darkness. I was suddenly painfully aware that we were alone in the dark together…

I rolled over to stifle these thoughts, afraid he would somehow know what direction they were headed in. I lay there willing my mind to blank and allow sleep to move in, but it was a long time before it did.

In my dream, I was back in the forest. I was running, sprinting with a panicked fury that I reserved only for fleeing for my life- something I'd sadly had too much practice with lately.

Behind me echoed the unmistakable crack of gunshots, getting closer and louder with every passing second. Branches whipped at my face, cutting into my hands and face as I tore through the undergrowth with frenzied desperation.

"Chloe!" Someone yelled. I instantly knew in my heart it was Derek. The sound was heavy with fear and I found myself veering towards it, knowing something terrible was about to happen to him and I had to stop it.

I lurched into a clearing, wincing as the new air stung my cuts. The clearing was wide and spacious, glowing blue-green in the moonlight. The far side was ringed with enlarged boulders, much too big to climb over. Derek was backed against the boulders, trapped, eyes wide with panic.

I ran towards him and he seemed to catch sight of me for the first time. His already huge eyes opened even wider. "Chloe, no-"

Whatever he was going to say was interrupted by a familiar throaty chuckle, the sound chilling my blood. I whirled, expecting to see Royce but what I saw was even worse.

Simon, about a foot taller and bulkier, was brandishing the gun, pointing it right at Derek. He grinned a toothy predator's smile that I hadn't known Simon's face was capable of forming and severely hoped it never would again. "Sorry son," his voice was the sleazy drawl I recognized as belonging to Royce. Then he raised the gun and pulled the trigger.

Save Derek save Derek save Derek save Derek, I found myself chanting in my head. I leaped in front of him and felt the world rip apart in a whirl of pain…

I woke up covered in blood. I screamed, knowing this wasn't possible, it had just been a dream. Yet there was no mistaking that sticky red fluid drenching my lower body as I looked down in horror.

The irrational screams came of their own accord now, ripping from my throat with a velocity I was powerless to change. The panic was mind-numbing, absurd. _What was wrong with me_?

"Chloe!" I was suddenly aware of another body pinning my flailing wrists down, yelling in my face. "Chloe it was a dream. A _dream_!"

I met his green eyes, full of terror for _me_, and wished full heartedly that I could stifle the panic long enough to explain that I too had _thought_ it was just a dream but the evidence I now saw proved otherwise.

"What the hell is going on?" A furious female voice yelled, footsteps stomping.

"Chloe?" A more timid voice, taut with anxiety.

"Chloe, look at me." My head had spun away from the fear inspiring blood but Derek forced me to turn back to him. "It. Was. Just. A. Dream."

"No!" I managed to choke, barely able to talk around the lump in my throat. Was this what it felt like to have a panic attack? "The blood…"

"Chloe?" If he had looked scared before, now he looked downright horrified. "What blood?"

I gestured helplessly with my hand at the blood, not able to force myself to look again. "What blood?" he repeated. How could he miss it? "Chloe, there's no blood…"

It was like someone flipped the rational part of my mind back on. I was able to quell the screams and put the facts together.

1. The gory dream I had was _just_ a dream

2. No one else sees the blood

3. This is the bed Austin Banks died in

That third fact settled it. I was simply seeing Austin's residual again. Except this time, it was right on top of me.

Though I now had no real reason for fear anymore, I couldn't help the childish whimper that escaped from my throat. This is where a boy younger than me _died_. Right in this spot.

"Chloe?" Derek was asking, still sounding on the verge of his _own_ panic attack.

For the first time since waking up I was able to focus on all three of their faces leaning over me, mirrored with the same anxiety.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry-" I shivered, wanting nothing more than to leap from this bed and run far away. It was a struggle to stay still.

"What just happened?" Now that I was normal-ish again, the tight worry that had been dominating Derek's voice was replaced with anger.

"I-I…"

"Slow down." he snapped, making me wince. He _knew_ that wasn't helping with my stutter.

"T-t-there w-was a g-g-"

"Ghost?" Simon guessed. I nodded.

"Where?" Derek spun to glare at the room.

"Here." I pointed at myself, then proceeded to explain about seeing his residual before and how now it was sort of overlapping me.

"And you didn't feel inclined to tell us there was a _ghost_ in your bed?" Derek clenched his hands into fists.

"I didn't think it'd be that big of a problem-"

"Well, clearly it _was._ God, it's just like that homeless guy from before. When will you figure out your power _is_ a problem?"

"I-"

"Derek. Leave. Now." Simon gave him a light shove out of the room. "Cool off first, then we'll discuss this."

For his part, Derek didn't argue. He gave me an almost apologetic look before stalking out of the room.

"Sorry about him," Simon grimaced. "In case you haven't noticed before, he has a teeny little temper problem."

I made an attempt at a smile for his sake but that was quickly wiped off as Tori whirled on me. "So there's been a ghost in _my bed_ and you didn't feel inclined to _tell_ me?" She shrieked.

Simon and I both winced. "Tori-" he started.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think you would care…"

"What, just because I can't see it? You of all people should know, Chloe, just because you can't see something doesn't mean it's there."

"I-"

My apology was interrupted by the reappearance of a sheepish Derek. "Come on," he told me. "I made one of the beds in another room for you. Hopefully this one will be ghost free."

It was a peace offering and I treated it as such. "Thanks Derek."

"No problem." he wouldn't meet my gaze. "Um…do you need help?"

"No, I-" I tried to stand up but staggered a little as pain sliced through my abdomen. "Yes."

"Here," he stooped over so I could drape one of my arms over his shoulders and let him help support me as I limped down the hall to another bedroom.

Five minutes later the crisis was over, Simon and Tori going back to their room and Derek resuming the guard position.

I was almost asleep when he whispered my name. "Chloe?"

"Yeah?" I rolled over to face him again, jumping as I realized he was standing right next to the bed.

"I…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. It was…uncalled for. You were just trying to be helpful as usual-"

"No, you're right. I mean, I knew it could have been a potential problem, I should have told you." I sighed.

"Chloe?"

"Yeah?"

"Goodnight." he leaned forward and kissed the top of my forehead in a gesture so intimate and tender it made up for all the times we had been interrupted in the past few weeks. It was with a smile on my face that I slipped into a blissful sleep.

**Finally! I just had to throw a kiss in there :) Yes, I am aware this isn't the greatest chapter ever. I knew what I wanted to happen…it was just a matter of actually **_**writing**_** it. Sorry that the beginning in particular is pretty dry and, well, fluffy. I wanted Tori and Chloe to have a bonding moment. And yes, I am aware that this whole chapter is completely OOC. I tried editing it but however I change it they just get more and more OOC. Overall, not my best chapter. Hopefully you'll still keep with the story- though. It get's better, I swear!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Brace yourselves for dramatic plot twist! Major chapter!**

The more time we spent in the house, the edgier Derek became. Fortunately, that was also the more relaxed the rest of us became.

"Ok, dude," Simon was trying to persuade him to relax. "If they haven't come to get us by now, they don't know we're in here."

"You don't know that."

"Breathe, Wolfy." Tori didn't even look up from where she was examining the chipping nail polish on her fingers. "Not like we can go anywhere even if they _did_ know we were here. The best thing to do now is enjoy life in a _house_ and access to showers before we have to go on the run again."

Though crude, there was some truth to her words. We couldn't do anything about our situation, so he might as well stop fretting over it.

Eventually we got him to stop pacing, though I knew inside he would still be brooding. I was just glad he channeled most of his energy into finding out more about Margaret and Andrew's involvement in the Edison Group, moving on to examine the basement this time.

Tori was sentenced to laptop duty again, but the battery had died and oddly enough there was no outlet in my room. She was forced to move several rooms away, though "still close enough for you to hear me scream if someone tries to murder me," as she had so nicely pointed out. That thought made me feel _so_ much better, especially since I wasn't entirely sure if the situation arose it would be mutual.

Since I was alone once again, Liz chose to reappear. "Hi Chloe." She was pale, even for a ghost.

"What's wrong now?" I tried not to say the words like a whiny child but I was getting tired of hearing all the bad news. Not that it was Liz's fault, of course.

"Derek's right. They know you're in here." I had a sharp intake of breath, shock flitting across my face.

"But they can't! We've been so careful not to leave lights on after dark, not to go outside, to be quiet-" suddenly a horrible thought occurred to me. "Oh no. It was _my_ fault wasn't it? They must've heard me screaming last night-" I groaned, closing my eyes and banging my head against the back of the headrest in the ultimate position of defeat

"What? No!" she assured me. "It's not your fault. I mean, not really…"

"Then how did they find out?" I demanded.

"You know how I said they were tracking you with some sort of GPS thingy?"

"Right." I shook my head in self-disgust. How could I have forgotten to mention that to the others? "So they used that to know where we are? But where's the tracking chip it's following?" I had seen enough spy movies to know something about this tracking-device area.

"I wanted to find that out so I eavesdropped on them…"

"Did you find out what?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"What?" If we could figure out where the tracking device is we could get rid of it, solving this problem. "Where is it?"

"Chloe…" She took a deep breath. "They said something about…you. You and…tracking bullets."

__. So it _was_ my fault. This knowledge hurt more than any other I had gained in the past few weeks. We were sitting ducks, just waiting for them to come and get us, and it was all because of _me._

Liz, sensing the direction my thoughts were taking, hastened to argue "Chloe it is _not_ your fault. Do you hear me? _Not your fault_! You didn't _ask _to get shot-"

"I know." I gulped, trying to trick myself into believing what she was saying. "You're right. It's none of our faults. We just have to get rid of it now."

"Chloe, I don't know if that's the best idea. I mean, removing a bullet? Major surgery. You should wait and get to a hospital or something-"

"We don't have much of a choice, do we?" I said briskly, trying to sound more calm and confident than I felt. "We _can't _escape while they know where we are."

She chewed on the inside of her cheek, deep in thought. "Ok," she sighed at last. "Let me see what else I can find out. Maybe I can somehow sabotage the tracking device…But promise me you aren't going to do anything rash? Not yet at least?"

"I promise." I didn't know what I _would_ do to fix this problem.

"All right." she seemed satisfied with that answer. "I'll be back tonight- tomorrow absolute latest."

"Thanks Liz. You're a good friend." She smiled and gave a little wave before disappearing.

I knew of only one solution to this problem. "Derek!" I called, not caring if Tori heard me. She wouldn't respond anyway.

His werewolf powers must have been on high alert because I heard footsteps dashing up the stairs. "Chloe? What's wrong?" He skidded to a stop in the center of the room, relaxing visibly as he saw I was ok. "What's up?" he reworded the question, making it more casual.

I was suddenly aware that I was on the verge of handling this the wrong way, but I had already called him so it was too late to think up a better method of asking for his help.

I took a deep breath. "I want you to get the bullet out." I blurted.

He shook his head. "No way."

"Come on, I know it's a lot to ask but-"

"You think I won't do it because I'm scared?" he sounded mad. "Because I'm squeamish around blood?" What happened to the amorous kiss we shared last night? Where did all those tender feelings go?

"I wouldn't blame you if you were, but-"

"No! You don't understand- I could _kill_ you." I opened my mouth to protest. "I don't have a clue what I'm doing. One wrong move and bye, bye Chloe. You've lost so much blood already, I won't risk you losing more."

"It's _me_ you're worried about?" I gasped incredulous. "You think _I'm_ scared?"

"No, and that's the problem. You _should_ be scared. You're an idiot if you're not. You don't seem to get that you would probably die!"

"If _I'm_ willing to take that risk, then you should be fine with it."

"Oh, so I should be fine with you risking your life?"

"Well, I don't see why you should care!" I shouted.

"You don't get it do you?" He shouted right back. "You don't understand that I _need _to protect you!"

"Because I'm your responsibility!" I knew I would regret this argument later but I couldn't seem to stop. "I know you wouldn't be overly upset if you didn't have to look out for me all the time!"

"I wouldn't _have_ to look out for you all the time if you would stop being such an idiot!"

"Well, then. Maybe I'd better get out of your way. Wouldn't want you to actually worry about me and not just the fact that if I got hurt Simon would be mad." I shoved the sheets off and swung my legs over the edge of the bed. _You're being an idiot._ A voice in the back of my mind whispered, but I ignored it. Using the bed frame to pull myself to my feet I stood up and swayed a couple of steps forward before plummeting to the ground. A pair of arms shot out to catch me and swing me back onto the bed.

"Chloe…" his voice was thick with remorse.

"No. Don't apologize." I felt tears well up in my eyes as I mentally replayed the whole conversation. "I'm the one who's sorry. I just…I just think the bullet should come out."

"You were right, and I'm sorry." I couldn't meet his gaze, not wanting to see the hurt there. Him admitting I was right was a big deal.

"Hey," he gently lifted my face with his finger. "I'm not mad. And I'm really hoping you aren't either. Don't cry." he wiped away a tear with his finger, a gesture so tender I felt even worse about what I'd said to him.

"Can we just pretend the last five minutes didn't happen?"

"Sure." he agreed.

"How's searching the basement coming?" I asked after a moment, wanting to change the subject. He began telling me about all the old tools and things he found, though nothing useful. I nodded and pretended to listen, though inside the seeds of a plan were beginning to form…

**Ok, again way to go lululara for seeing this coming! Any guesses on what Chloe will do to protect her friends? (I love this character- she is so selfless it is amazing! I think everyone should totally embrace their inner-Chloe :) and if that means getting a Derek, I know **_**I**_** would **_**totally**_** do that)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Finally, things will actually start to happen again, not just conversations. **

"Get some sleep, Derek. You haven't slept in more than forty-eight hours and it's not like anything's going to happen tonight."

"It might." he mumbled, but didn't protest further than that. I could tell it was taking him a lot of energy to keep his eyes open and I felt even more terrible for what I was about to do.

"Go to bed. I'll be fine." I made little shooing motions with my hands.

"If you insist. Goodnight." he shuffled out of the room, leaving me alone with Simon.

"So you're going to wake Tori at two?" I confirmed.

He nodded. "Yup. Don't worry, I'll be quiet. You won't even notice the changing of the guards."

"I'm not worried," I assured him, calculating in my mind. It needed to be Simon, so I had to leave before 2:00 am.

I lay down on my pillow, knowing I shouldn't fall asleep and doubting I could anyway. For a while I made a show of wriggling around, as if trying to get comfortable. Finally I decided it had been long enough that Derek and Tori had fallen asleep.

"Simon?" I whispered, the sound startlingly loud in the silence. He leaped up from his perch on the other mattress, gliding towards my bed.

"What's up?"

"Um…would it be too much to ask for some water? I'm sorry it's just my throat's really dry and-"

"Not a problem. Be back in a minute." He had hardly left the room before I was on my feet and tiptoeing out of the room. This is why I needed Simon and not Tori; he wasn't as suspicious and would actually agree to do something nice for me. My heart hurt as I thought about how betrayed he'd feel when he came back in a few minutes and saw my bed empty, but I knew it was necessary. They didn't realize it, but with me there they could never escape. Another reason I needed it to be Simon: Derek would be pissed and Tori did _not_ need any more ammunition against her. At least he wouldn't actually murder Simon.

My legs felt like jelly but I pressed on, trying to move down the hallway as soundlessly as possible. I'd been wearing my jacket and sneakers in bed-not that they knew that-so I wasn't cold now, but I still shivered. It was creepy in the dark and silent house, so large entire rooms could get lost. That was what I was counting on. If a whole room could get lost, a little Chloe should be able to, too.

I ghosted (no pun intended) down the back servant stairs, knowing Simon could be coming up the main staircase at any moment. At the bottom I paused, remembering the room I was in joined with the kitchen. I could hear the steady stream of faucet water coming from the other side of the door. Good, he was still there. A moment later the water shut off with a small squeal and footsteps clomped away, growing fainter.

Now I made my move, darting into the kitchen, bee-lining to the door. I winced as it squeaked when I opened it, but that was unavoidable. Then I was out, fleeing into the night.

SPOV (Simon's point of view…but kind of 3rd person)

"Chloe?" Simon whispered, as if she was just hiding out of sight. He approached her bed, flinging back the covers, hoping his eyes were deceiving him. She was gone.

Fighting a wave of panic, he searched the room. No Chloe. He checked the bathroom but the light was off. One by one he checked all the other rooms on the top floor. She wasn't there.

"Maybe she got scared and wanted to talk to Tori or Derek." he whispered aloud, needing to hear some sound in the eerily silent house. "I'll go check their room." He gingerly pushed open the door to the room Tori and Derek shared. Tori had been too afraid to sleep alone. A quick search revealed no necromancer.

Simon glanced at Derek's bed where he was a lump under the covers. He must have really been tired if he hadn't woken up while Simon thumped around the room. Waking him was a risk- he needed the sleep but he would be able to find Chloe with his super sense of smell. But he'd panic- and probably never sleep and leave Chloe with someone else again. Yeah, he'd be pissed at Simon for letting her escape. Best to wake Tori then.

He prodded her shoulder and she blinked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Ugh." she moaned. "It _can't_ be my turn already!"

"Ssh!" Simon glanced at Derek, who thankfully hadn't moved. "I need to talk to you."

"Shouldn't you be guarding our little ghost raiser?" she asked, but she got out of bed and followed him into the hallway.

"Have you seen Chloe?" he cut right to the chase.

"You _lost_ her?" she gasped.

"No…well, yeah." he admitted.

"How did that happen?"

"She wanted a glass of water, so I got her one and…" Simon trailed off, realizing he should have known something was up. Chloe was so proud she probably wouldn't ask for a glass of water if she was totally dehydrated.

"Great." Tori threw up her hands with frustration. "Just great! Do you remember how freaking big this house is? And not to mention the woods-"

"Chloe wouldn't have gone into the woods. She's not stupid." he only wished he could believe that himself. If she thought she was putting the rest of them at risk- she would do something stupid like that. Although _why_ she would think she was putting them in danger was a mystery to him.

"Ok, we'll look. But my vote? Wake the bloodhound."

"You know he'll be pissed. At both of us. And it would be pretty much signing Chloe's death warrant."

She snorted. "As if that little daisy would last five minutes out in the woods alone anyway."

"Let's just look around for a while before we wake him, ok?"

"Suit yourself. But we stay together. No way am I tramping through this dark haunted mansion alone with killer ghosts on the loose."

"Ok, we'll go together. But we _have_ to find her. If she's not careful she could reopen her bullet wound-"

"Always worried about _her_ aren't you?" Tori didn't say it angrily, just wearily. Simon opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off. "Don't worry- I get it. I'm the leech no one cares about, feeding off your escape."

"No, Tori-"

"Can you honestly tell me you'd be searching the house up and down if it was _me_ who was missing? Would you have been worried to the point of panic if it had been _me_ who had been shot?"

Simon fell silent, knowing she had a point. Chloe was the one him and Derek cared about. She was the one they loved. Tori was just an extra. As mean as that sounded, it was the truth. No one in their group totally trusted her or even really liked her. Of course, part of that _was_ her own fault. If she wasn't such a bitch they might be able to tolerate her.

"Come on." she sighed when it became apparent he wasn't going to answer. "Let's go find your girlfriend."

They searched most of the house, leaving only the basement and the roof unsearched. Simon didn't know where she'd be, but he was sure she would be smart enough not to set foot in those forbidden places.

"_Now_ can we wake up the werewolf?" Tori begged. "You know, the longer we wait the less chance we're going to be able to find her."

"I know." Simon sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Let's get Derek."

When they woke him up he flipped, as predicted.

"What do you mean she's gone?" he barked, yanking on jeans and a t-shirt.

"Gone, absent, missing, AWOL. Whatever you want to call it." Tori said.

"How'd you let this happen, Simon?" he rounded on his foster brother.

"I went to the kitchen to get her a glass of water!" Simon defended. "She couldn't even walk earlier today! How was I supposed to know she was planning to run away?"

Derek wasn't listening. He was sniffing the air, nostrils flaring. Tori made a face but didn't say anything. A moment later he was dashing down the hall to the back staircase. Simon and Tori ran after him, struggling to keep up. They trailed him down the stairs and into the kitchen where he froze in the doorway.

"She went _outside_?" he demanded incredulous. "What did you do to her to make her have a sudden death wish?"

"I'm not the one who was yelling at her this afternoon!" Simon argued.

"I wasn't…" Derek paused. "Oh god, I _was_ yelling at her. This is my fault." He blanched.

"Oh come on." Tori rolled her eyes. "Yes, it's all your fault. Now can we find her?"

Derek shook his head sharply as if hoping to dispel guilty thoughts. He set off, loping into the forest. At the outskirts of the trees he paused. "You guys should probably wait here."

Simon wanted to argue but knew them bumbling through the forest without night vision wouldn't be helpful. "Be careful, bro." he said.

Derek didn't answer, which was alarming, but instead melted into the forest. With nothing left to do, Simon and Tori headed back into the house.

It was more than two hours later that Derek returned, joining them in their silent vigil at the kitchen table.

"No luck?" Simon sighed.

Derek shook his head miserably. "I followed her trail to the creek. I lost it; she must have crossed a few times. I tried to pick it up again but…" he hung his head dejectedly.

"It's not your fault." Simon comforted him, patting his shoulder. "There's nothing you could have done."

"But there _was_." he whimpered. "And now she's gone- maybe forever. She was already hurt and with the Edison group patrolling the forest…"

"Stop." his brother commanded. "We'll find her. There has to be something we can do."

A floating pencil tapped him on the shoulder. "There is." Simon read aloud from the paper hovering in front of his face. "Liz?"

"Yes." she wrote, putting the paper on the table so everyone could see. "I have to tell you something."

"What?" Derek demanded eagerly, hope rekindled in his eyes. "Did she tell you why she left?"

"No." Liz admitted. "I didn't even know she _had_ left until I heard you talking. But I might have an idea why."

"Why?"

"I was spying on the Edison group, listening to their plans and whatnot. They said something about Chloe." Liz wrote on the piece of paper. "Chloe and tracker bullets." Derek swore.

"And did you tell _her_ this?"

"Yes." Liz murmured then scribbled it on the paper.

He swore again. "When I find her, I'm going to _kill_ her." he snarled then rounded on Liz. "Can you find her?"

Liz hesitated, not wanting to get his hopes up in case she couldn't. But she knew they had to try. "Yes." she wrote again.

"Let's go. Now." he stood up.

"Wait!" she scrawled furiously. "Shouldn't we wait until morning? When we can actually see?"

"I am _not_ waiting." Derek snarled.

"It makes sense…" Simon started but he cut him off again.

"Fine. Stay here. I'm not leaving Chloe out there alone just so we can wait for morning."

"Ok then." Simon sighed. "Let's go."

"Wait for me!" Tori scrambled after them.

Liz led the way, carrying a branch so they could track her. They weren't able to search for long, though. After only twenty minutes of trekking through the forest they met a pair of Edison group members. Fortunately they were able to duck into a bush while Liz drifted a hundred feet away and rattled the undergrowth so they turned that way. Then they were forced to retreat to the house again.

"We'll try again in a few hours." Simon suggested. Derek, looking miserable, only nodded.

"I just wish we knew if she was ok, you know?" he sighed.

"I know, bro."

"I'm going to barf." Tori rolled her eyes and turned to the window, silently scanning the dark woods for any sign of her friend.

**Good guess lululara, your idea probably would have made more sense than mine, but I was worried the story was getting a little dry so I decided to add some more action. Sorry if it's a little unrealistic, but as I said- I wanted something to actually happen since the past few chapters have mostly been dialogue. Please review with what you think of it! Your reviews make me so happy :)**


	10. Chapter 10

*****Concerning the last chapter- Sorry Chloe's a little OOC in my story, Chloe Fans. But an impulsive Chloe makes for more action and better Chlerek moments :)**

**Back to the present story…**

**Chloe is still on the run from her friends and they are all really (and in Derek's case: adorably) worried about her. **

Crossing the creek had left me cold, wet, and miserable, but at least it ensured Derek wouldn't be able to track me. That was almost worth it. Of course, afterwards I lost all feeling in my toes, but they weren't that important anyway.

Climbing the tree was the next smartest thing I did. I scrambled up a branch hanging low over the creek so I would never have to set foot on land where he could follow my scent. Clambering up was the easy part; it was swinging from tree to tree that proved to be difficult.

It was so Tarzan-like I was almost tempted to let out a wild cry, but knew that'd likely be the last sound I made. And truthfully the actual branch-swinging wasn't nearly as Tarzan-like as I would have hoped. No fast easy gliding from tree to tree for me. It was more of a creep-to-the-absolute-edge-of-the-branch-and-hope-it-can-support-my-weight-and-then-scurry-to-the-next-branch. Rinse and repeat.

Each time I was in danger of falling and breaking my neck, and I could just imagine what Derek would say about this, and it was colorful. He seemed to frown upon unnecessary risking of my life. Anyway, he wouldn't be happy with me now that I was going to such lengths to deceive them. Or that I ran away at all. Over all, he'd be furious with me if I ever saw him again. And honestly? I was kind of hoping I wouldn't. At least not until the tracking chip was gone. I wouldn't be responsible for putting them in that danger anymore.

Below me the leaves rustled. It may have been just a squirrel, but I still froze for a few minutes. Then I kept going in my deadly treetop dance.

Eventually my frozen limbs couldn't safely grip the branches anymore and I was forced to stop. I huddled at the top of my tree, feeling like a little monkey among the leaves. I was tired, but I didn't dare close my eyes for fear of what would happen if I did. It would be just my luck if I managed to raise an entire forest of dead creatures. Not to mention falling out of the tree…

Unfortunately, staying still wasn't helping me warm up. Just the opposite in fact, I felt the feeling slowly leaving my toes and fingers. I curled up in a ball as if that would help. My stomach was growling, I hadn't really thought about bringing food and I hadn't had an appetite yesterday.

I decided staying where I was was counter productive and began to climb again. Dawn's rosy fingers were just stretching towards the horizon at this point. I settled into a routine: climb, rest, climb, rest, climb, rest. I kept going like that for the rest of the day, fortunately not hearing any Edison group members.

It was in one of my resting periods, the sky starting to fade once again to dusk, when someone spoke directly into my ear. "You lied."

I jumped and whirled, almost toppling off the branch. Beside me Liz was perched as if she had been there all along. Her friendly eyes were glaring at me accusingly.

"Liz! Are you _trying_ to scare me to death?" I hissed, hoping no one had heard my sharp intake of breath at the scare.

"You _promised_ you wouldn't do anything stupid." she crossed her arms.

I sighed. "I know and I'm sorry. I just couldn't stay there knowing every second I was putting them at risk-"

"Oh, like now they're totally safe?" she rolled her eyes, voice dripping sarcasm.

"Well now they can escape without being tracked-"

"You _know_ they won't escape. Not until they find you."

"They aren't stupid, they'll save themselves-"

"No they _aren't _stupid. Which is why they _aren't_ going to just leave you here."

"They should run-"

"Yes they _should _but they _won't_."

I sighed again, knowing she was right but wishing she wasn't. "Are they really that worried?"

"Bordering on triple heart attacks."

"But they can't find me, can they?"

"Not alone, no…" now she turned her eyes away from mine to study the ground several feet below us. I waited patiently for her to continue. After a moment's silence, she looked up at me again, an almost guilty look replacing the hard glint in her eyes. "I'm going to help them find you."

Her betrayal hurt. Of all our little group, I was probably the closest to Liz (although that may have had something to do with the fact that I was the only one she could really talk to). "But _why_?" I said at last. "I thought you were on _my_ side!"

Pain flashed across her face but she didn't look away again. "I _am_. As your best friend, I am telling you you're being stupid. Totally and admirably brave and selfless, but stupid. Do you really think you'll be ok wandering out here alone? I mean, I know you're already starving," she saw my mouth open in protest and hurried to cut me off, "don't deny it- I can hear your stomach growling. And it's a miracle you haven't reopened the bullet wound."

"I can look after myself," I muttered, though she did have a point.

"For how long?"

"As long as I need to until I can figure out some way to get rid of this tracking device. Speaking of, how did the sabotage attempt go yesterday?"

She grimaced. "Not great. I wanted to steal it or break it or something but I think they were expecting me to try that. Of all people they had _Margaret_ holding it." I could see her problem. Margaret, as a fellow necromancer, would be one of the few people able to see Liz if she tried to approach them.

"That's ok. Thanks for trying. Any ideas on how I can get rid of it?"

"I don't know, but you should probably ask Derek. From what I've seen, he's pretty good at making up plans and stuff."

"But I'm not going to _see_ Derek because he's not going to _find_ me."

"Sorry Chloe," she shook her head with regret, "but I think you're making a mistake. I know you're mad, but I'm really trying to help."

"Please Liz, don't go to them. Why don't you help by staying here with me? You can help keep lookout and scout ahead…" I tried to disguise the desperation in my voice. It would defeat the entire purpose of running away if they were still able to find me; they'd still be in danger. Not to mention the fact that they would probably kill me when they found me…

"Sorry Chloe," she repeated, form flickering. "But I have to do what's right. Bye."

"Wait! Liz-" But she was gone.

I took deep breaths, hoping to quench the despair welling up inside me. Of course they would find me if _Liz_ was helping. I knew from experience that she would be able to track my necromancer glow from almost anywhere.

I couldn't help but glance down at the pendent dangling around my neck. It was more of a yellowish color than purple nowadays. I had had it since I was little and never thought it was anything more than a superstitious protection charm, but now it stood to symbolize my new life as a necromancer. I was tempted to fling it away to be lost in the forest, discarding my supernatural heritage. My fist even closed around it, tensing to rip it off the chain it hung on.

I shook off the feeling with a resolute snap of my head. What was I thinking? Not only was it one of the only things I had left from my deceased mother, who I probably would never even see as a ghost again, but hadn't we figured out that it was serving to stifle the full extent of my powers? I was always much more powerful without it on. Throwing it away would have the opposite effect of what I was aiming for.

With grim determination, I resumed my climbing. If there was no way to dispose of my necromancer glow completely, I would just have to hope I could put enough distance between us that it would at least be diminished.

SPOV

"Can we leave _now_?" Derek growled, pacing up and down in front of the kitchen.

"You said it yourself, we should wait until dark to look for her." Simon looked up from where he was doodling a picture of a petite blond girl trapped in an iron cage. He covered the picture with his hand so no one else would see it.

"Changed my mind. Let's go now." Derek made to move towards the door.

"At least let's wait for Liz to come back," Simon argued. When they had fled back to the house after running into the Edison group, Liz had written that she was going to go look for Chloe alone so she wouldn't have to worry about the rest of them bumbling through the woods after her. As a ghost it was easy for her to sneak around unnoticed.

"Well how do we _know_ if she's back?" he snapped.

"Um…by that?" Tori pointed at the floating pencil.

"Liz, did you find her?"

"Yes." she wrote on the pad of paper on the table. The three living supernaturals crowded around the table to read.

"Is she ok?"

"Yes."

"Did you ask her to come back?"

"Yes. She didn't listen."

"No surprise there," Tori muttered, but the other two shushed her.

"Why not?"

"She thinks she's putting you guys in danger."

Derek cursed.

"So now can you help _us_ find her?" Simon asked.

"Yes. I'll be more careful to watch out for Edison Group members this time so we won't have to turn around again."

"Let's go."

**Sigh. I wish I could be as brave as Chloe…**

**Anyway, please review! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Ok, sorry in advance that it's kind of a short chapter. **

They followed Liz through the forest, tracking her by the floating branch she was brandishing. In hindsight, they really should have brought the pen and paper with them. Without that, they were forced to rely on the inefficient and mostly ineffective method of charades. Liz would try and convey what she was saying through emphatic jabs and motions with the stick.

Once, when they came close to a passing Edison Group patrol, they were almost discovered. Liz had scouted ahead and seen the guys dressed in camouflage, but had no clear way of telling them to be quiet. She had tried to press the stick against Simon's lips, as if it were a shushing finger, but that only made him sputter and gasp with confusion, spitting out flecks of dirt and bark.

Only Tori was really able to grasp branch-speak. "Shut the hell up," she snapped as Simon, who blinked at her.

"Why?"

"Can't you tell that's what she's trying to tell us?" she rolled her eyes. "You guys are so thick sometimes."

"How did you-" Simon started but Derek clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Ssh!"

A few minutes later Liz bobbed the stick up and down in midair. "Does this mean we can talk again?" Simon turned to Tori for interpretation.

"We shouldn't be talking period, but theoretically yeah."

They moved on, gliding through the too silent forest. Though they had Liz's branch to follow, Derek still swiveled his head back and forth as if trying to track Chloe himself.

Eventually they were getting close, Chloe's glow was almost blinding to Liz, who had gone ahead to scout, but before she could return to the others and motion that they had found her, she heard the voices.

"…yes, we still have the girl in our sights." a pause and the barely discernable crackle of a radio. "Yes. So you are saying we can't shoot her?" Liz felt sickened with disgust at the obvious disappointment in the voice. "Right…We understand…Uh-huh…but when the boy _does_ show?" Liz crept forward until she was standing directly next to the unfamiliar Edison Group member.

She was able to hear what the person on the other end of the radio said next. "Shoot her."

Liz felt like crying, though she couldn't decide if that was because of relief or terror. On the one hand, it sounded like Chloe was being kept alive as bait, so she was more or less safe for now. On the other, as soon as they caught sight of "the boy" (it wasn't hard to guess who that was referring to), they would kill her.

She could feel Chloe only yards away, the murderers sticking within eyeshot of her. If only Chloe knew they were there…

It crossed her mind that she could just go up and _tell_ Chloe of the danger she was in. But, the more she thought about it, the riskier it seemed. If Chloe showed any reaction to her presence, as she surely would, the Edison Group members would see and be able to guess what was going on. There was no telling _what_ they would do if they knew Chloe knew she was being followed.

Then she realized an even bigger problem: the other three were still heading this way looking for Chloe. She scurried back to them, needing to understand that by approaching Chloe, they were signing her death warrant.

"No! Don't come any closer!" she yelled, knowing they couldn't hear her. Desperately she waved the stick in their faces, attempting to block their path.

"Liz?" Simon's whisper was far too loud as he gave Liz a vaguely puzzled look. "What's wrong?"

She started thrusting the branch at them and then jabbing it furiously at the ground in an attempt at saying "stay here!" It only drew blank looks from all three of them, but at least they had stopped walking.

"Liz, even _I_ don't understand this time." Tori put her hands on her hips and cocked her head thoughtfully.

Liz groaned with frustration. How to communicate with them? What she needed was a necromancer. After thinking about it for a minute, she decided she'd have to resort to a slow and crude method of communication. She knelt down on the hard packed dirt and began sweeping the leaves out of the way. When she had cleared a space of about a square foot, she held her branch like a pencil and started to write.

She had to retrace her letters several times for the message to be clear, but eventually it was legible. _Chloe is close_, it read, _but you __can't__ follow her. The EG has guys watching her, waiting for Derek to show up so they can kill her. She's __bait_!

Liz watched their puzzled faces bloom with realization then darken with fury. Despite her warning, Derek resumed stalking towards Chloe.

"What are you doing, you idiot!" she scolded, wishing he could hear her. She tapped him on the shoulder with the branch, then when that didn't work- rapped him sharply on top of the head. He didn't even turn around.

"No!" Simon lunged forward and grabbed his arm. "Derek, you can't."

"There are guys with _guns_ watching her. We have to do something-" Derek whirled to glower at him.

"No," he repeated with absolute conviction. "If she's bait, they aren't going to hurt her. Not yet, at least."

"She's not _bait_-"

"Your brother has a point. I say we leave her alone for now. If they're trying to reel in a werewolf, they aren't going to do anything with her until they do. She's fine as long as _you_ don't go looking for her."

"I can't just sit around and wait for them to kill her!" Liz repeated the shushing motions from before, their voices were growing louder in the heat of conflict.

"You don't have to. We'll get a little closer so you can use your bionic senses to hear and/or see them. That way if Chloe is put in danger, you'll know and be close enough to act on it." Simon proposed. "That gonna work ok for you?"

After a moment's hesitation Derek gave a curt nod. "But if she's at risk, I'm going to go after her." his finalized tone clearly said the matter wasn't open to debate.

"Fine." the other two agreed. Liz was just relieved they wouldn't openly confront the EG guard members. Not yet, at least.

**Ok, who bets Derek will **_**actually**_** be able to stay close to Chloe but not really help her while she's in danger? Will his logical side or protective side win out? I'd like to hear your guesses!**

**On another note, I'd like to thank the 2 people who took my poll! You guys rock! Everyone else, please, please, **_**please**_** take my poll on my profile page. If you won't do it for me- do it for Simon!**


	12. Chapter 12

**I am soooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry that I am only writing the next chapter now! My parents took us on a mini ski vacation (fun, but I had to leave my laptop here) and then break ended and school started again…**

**Anyway, really sorry. I hope you'll still read it! **

It was only an hour or so after Liz had left me that I realized I was being followed.

It wasn't so much of a certainty as a feeling, the prickle on the back of my neck that meant I was being watched. Every few steps I would whirl and study the thick undergrowth behind me for any sign of disturbance. There was none.

Still, I couldn't shake the growing unease. That combined with the fact that all the adrenaline in my veins had long since disappeared left me cold, miserable, and wincing with every step. I had been able to ignore the waves of pain rolling up from the bullet wound at first, redirecting them away from my brain like a rock disrupting the pattern of a stream. Now that the immediate survival instinct had fizzled out, I was forced to endure it. Instead of only resting every half hour or so, I was stopping to catch my breath every five minutes. That made my progress horrifically slower, but there was nothing I could do.

As I walked I mulled over who could be following me:

A) My friends

B) A ghost (most likely Royce)

C) Edison Group

Here are the reasons _why_ they _aren't_ the ones following me:

A) they would've approached me by now instead of all this creepy tracking crap

B) He would have scared me by now and/or started throwing pointy objects

C) ?

Only one option made sense: I was being followed by the Edison Group.

If I thought I'd have stood a chance I would have turned and confronted them. As it was I resigned myself to trying to figure out _why_ they were following me as opposed to, oh…I don't know. Shooting me? Again?

Mere thinking wasn't helping anything and after another hour of walking the growl in my stomach had begun a rising crescendo. If I had remembered food I wouldn't _be_ in this situation, just another reminder that as much as I tried to play it, I wasn't Indiana Jones.

I couldn't keep this up much longer. Eventually I would need sleep, a scary enough prospect _without_ knowing I was being followed. It seemed my only option would be to confront the pursuers, though that would most likely end with a bullet in my head.

I didn't dare turn around and actually meet them face-to-face (my bravery has limits) so I did the next best thing: climbed a tree. Ideally, they wouldn't notice that and would pass right beneath me, unsuspecting. I had no clue what I'd do then, maybe fall on top of them since that seemed to work last time, but I didn't want them behind me anymore. _This is assuming there _is_ someone following you_. A voice whispered in the back of my mind. I shook it off, though it _did_ have a point. Still, I wasn't willing to take the chance so I decided to stick with my tree idea.

In only a matter of minutes I was perched on a low branch, just high enough to melt into the foliage. There I crouched in the now familiar position, digging my fingers into the rough bark as I waited. I didn't even want to _think_ about how many splinters I was going to have after all this Tarzan tree crap.

It wasn't long until my suspicions were proved correct. A pair of men decked out in total camouflage crept out of the undergrowth. I couldn't be sure past the massive night vision goggles dominating the majority of their faces, but neither of them looked familiar.

"Wait!" One of them held up a hand, lifting the clunky black radio he clutched up to his ear. "I think someone's trying to connect-"

"Give me that!" The other one snatched it away from the guy. The one he grabbed it from didn't put up any resistance, so the other one must be inferior somehow. Team leader?

"This is team Dakota. Status?"

The radio crackled to life in his hands.

"I only want you to give yes or no answers, understand?" the unrecognizably tinny voice came from the radio.

"Yes." the Edison Group spoke into the little metal box, face wary. I held my breath and leaned as far down as I dared, straining my ears so I wouldn't miss what was said next.

"The other subjects should have caught up with her by now. It is troubling they haven't approached her."

"Yes."

The voice on the other end sharpened. "That didn't warrant an answer."

"No."

"They _should_ have approached her," the radio continued. "They must know she is being watched. No doubt the poltergeist Elizabeth Delaney has been aiding them."

"So what should we do?"

"Provoke them. Make them think she is in immediate danger. That will effectively lure them out of hiding."

"And then?"

"Careful with the questions. There is a good chance that Derek can hear you and is listening in on your every word right now."

"Yes."

"But to answer your question, just fulfill the primary mission. I want you to bring me my son." I almost fell out of the tree when I realized it must be Kit on the other end. That must mean they were after Simon…And the way they were talking made me feel like a worm on the hook. Bait. But one small fact brought me comfort: if all they were saying was true- my friends were nearby. _Derek_ was out there, within hearing distance, waiting to rescue me. Though I had run away to protect them, my hero instinct had long since died out. The thought of seeing them made my heart lift, though I knew it was horrifically selfish of me. Then I remembered what else they had just said, about luring them out of hiding by threatening me, and my heart sunk again. It seemed my friends were about to walk into a trap and there was nothing I could do about it. At least not yet; I wanted to listen more first.

"And the other one, sir?" the guard dared asking timidly.

"Other? Oh, you mean my other son." A short barked laugh. "No, Derek is not my son."

"So…?"

"Try not to kill him; he is still a valuable subject. But he _will_ certainly prove difficult to ward off…Just do whatever it takes to get my son, my _real_ son, back in one piece." I felt that like a punch in the gut, even though it wasn't me he was talking about. _This_ was Simon and Derek's_ dad_? Even if _he _didn't seem to feel any fatherly attachment to Derek, his "other son" certainly did.

"Yes."

"Now, do you still have the Saunders girl in sight?"

"No."

"No?"

"Not directly."

"But you still see her location on the GTS, yes?"

"Yes." Shit.

"And she is nearby?"

"Yes."

"Good." the voice- Kit- sounded satisfied. "Leave your radio on and say when you have him."

"Yes."

"Good luck." the radio gave one more crackle before falling silent.

I knew now was the time to act, to go full out ninja and drop down on them or whatever I had been planning on doing, but I couldn't seem to make my heavy limbs move. I was literally frozen by the weight of the knowledge I had just obtained. The panicky signals being sent to my brain were met with a solid brick wall.

"So what do we do now?" The initial guard lowered his voice beyond a whisper, leaning in close to his companion. I hoped that wouldn't be enough to keep Derek from listening in.

The other's mouth was twisted in silent thought. When his partner began to speak again, he held up a finger for silence. Eventually he spoke in the same low tone, "follow my lead." the other guard nodded his agreement.

He continued in a much louder voice, _falsely_ loud to my ears, "It is suspicious that they haven't come for the Saunders girl by now. I guess they aren't going to come after all."

"So what do we do now?" The other guard asked, voice also too loud. They _wanted_ Derek to hear this.

"Shoot her."

I tensed myself for launch but didn't get the chance. A strangled roar erupted from the bushes behind us, a dark blur barreling into the guards before I could make my move.

The guards had their guns halfway raised before Derek caught them, knocking them over simultaneously like a twisted game of Red Rover. Clearly they hadn't been expecting the speed and velocity of his attack, for they lay there stunned for a moment. That was all the time Derek needed, he pounced on the nearest guard and descended in a whirl of swinging fists and kicks.

"_Derek!_" Someone yelled. It may have been me.

Simon, streaked with dirt with leaves tangled in his hair, blundered out of the bushes, raising his hands to cast. I heard the rustling of Tori behind him.

They were too late. The other guard had recovered and had lifted his gun, pointing it right at Derek.

**I know, I know. I make you wait for a week and then I end on a frickin' **_**cliffhanger?**_** I don't blame you if you want to kill me right now but I will right more ASAP- promise. **


	13. Chapter 13

**Ok, the wait is over! Sorry it took so long, with school and then sports I didn't have time to write until late. Even though you're probably really P.O. at me, please review!**

The crack of the bullet echoed in the forest and Tori screamed. I felt like screaming too, _needed to_ in fact, but no sound poured from my throat. All I could think was _Not him. Not Derek._

Simon's spell took effect a moment later, knocking out the guard who had shot, and I could only pray he had missed. Derek was still tussling on the ground with the other guard, but I knew that didn't mean anything. If there was a threat in the area, Derek would keep fighting to the death.

A lifetime (or more like a few milliseconds) later, the guard Derek had been fighting with was limp, blood leaking from his nose. I didn't see a ghost, so he can't have been dead, but either way I didn't really care. I dropped lightly to the forest floor and started towards Derek, scanning his shirt for telltale bloodstains. There were a few that I could see, but they could have just been from the other guy. This, at least, was reassuring.

"Chloe!" he leapt up, breathing hard.

"Are you-" I tried to ask if he was ok but was crushed by his stifling embrace.

I didn't have time to think what was going on as he pressed his lips against mine with startling force. "Don't ever, _ever_," he mumbled against my lips through our kiss, "do that again." I was just so relieved he was ok and we were together again that I surrendered entirely to his lips and his love, letting the danger we were still in slip from my mind. This kiss was unlike the others we had shared, more passionate and forceful. Desperate.

That was the first time I told Derek "I love you."

Finally someone coughed, a pesky sound that I was willing to ignore, but Derek gingerly unwound my arms from around his neck and took a step back. I fell back off my tip-toes and turned to Simon and Tori. Tori had a bemused expression on her face. Simon's mouth was twisted up in a ruthful smile, a slightly wistful glint in his eyes. I was glad it seemed he had accepted the love I felt for him was more brotherly than romantic.

"Ok. We should get out of here." Derek took charge.

"Oh, I don't know. This spot seems to be pretty _nice_." Tori waggled her eyebrows at Derek and I, turning my face crimson. By the emphasis placed on "nice" I could tell it wasn't the first word she would have chosen.

"Let's go. The road is this way."

"Oh," I blushed again as he turned in the opposite direction I had been headed.

"Don't worry, you would have found it eventually," he assured me.

"How do _you_ know where the road is?" Tori accused.

He answered with obvious reluctance. "I can smell car fumes," he admitted.

"Of course you can." Tori shook her head. "But can you smell Chloe's-"

"Let's go." I interrupted her probably rude remark. Wait- change that to _definitely_ rude remark, as evident by the smirk she now shot me.

We were only trudging through the forest for an hour or so when the trees ended suddenly to reveal a narrow paved road. After the cover of undergrowth for so long, I felt strangely exposed.

"Ok. Road found. _Now_ where do we go? Right or left?" Tori put her hands on her hips.

Derek paused, deep in thought. "Flip a coin?" he suggested finally.

We didn't actually flip a coin; by mutual consensus we decided to head right. No reason, just the hope that our luck would change.

Thankfully, it did. Another several miles walked mostly in silence, no one having the energy to uphold a conversation for more than a few minutes, found us arriving on the outskirts of a small town.

It looked like one of those places that sprung up for the sole purpose of servicing the truckers and motorcycle gang members that passed through. There was only a bar, motel, convenience store, and a handful of houses. Any other stores and buildings that may have existed before were among the numerous boarded up warehouses that loomed on the edge of the town. Everything was built crudely and rickety, looking on the verge of falling down at any second. The closest comparison I could come up with was the stalls and rides at a fair: temporary structures that had to be sturdy but able to be taken down at a moments notice.

"Nice place." Tori looked about with distaste.

"Hey- do you _want_ a bed tonight?" Simon snapped. She fell silent.

Derek led us over to the motel, pulling a wad of bills from his sock to pay the manager. "Are you sure we should be spending-" I started, knowing we probably wouldn't be able to get any more money in the foreseeable future.

"I don't know about you, but I would kill for a shower." he said. "We are getting a room tonight."

"Are you sure you shouldn't get _two_ rooms?" Tori asked. "So you and Chloe can share one-"

"Tori?" Derek glared at her. "Shut up." She did, but from the gleam in her eye I knew she wasn't done with the jokes.

Our room turned out to be decent enough, considering the rest of the "town". It had two twin beds and a bathroom jutting off of it. Hardly the Marriott, but at least there were no noticeable bugs in the sheets.

"Ok, _now_ we have time to catch up." Derek said, locking the door. "Chloe, are you ok?"

I knew he meant emotionally as well as physically but I nodded.

"How's your…injury?" Simon piped up from where he was lounging on one of the beds.

"A little sore but fine. Although I still think we should take the bullet out-"

"We know about the 'tracking bullet'" Tori made air quotations around 'tracking bullet'.

"So you know we should probably get it out-"

"No. We don't know for sure." Derek interrupted.

I opened my mouth to argue but Simon cut me off, "Ok, since we all seem to be in one piece, we should probably scrounge up some food. Anyone want to risk walking across the street to the convenience store with me?"

"Not in _this_ hell-hole of a town." Tori shook her head and crossed her arms resolutely.

"Let's go." Derek stood up and stretched. "You girls going to be ok here?" Though he addressed us both, his eyes were on me.

"Relax. I'll make sure no one kills your girlfriend while your gone." Tori told him.

"Ok." He seemed to accept that locked up in our room with a super-powerful witch I was relatively safe. "We should be back in a half hour. Hour tops."

"Ok. Try not to get the _most_ bruised apples," I teased.

"Come on, bro." Simon opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.

"Hang on a sec," Derek leaned back into the hotel room, green eyes staring deep into mine. "Chloe? I can trust you won't run away again, right? I need to know you won't be going anywhere."

The fact that he assumed that I would leave again stung, but I knew it was only what I deserved. Ignoring the sudden tears pricking the back of my eyes, I nodded solemnly.

"Ok. We'll be back soon." Then they were gone.

"So," Tori said when the other two had left, "you and wolfie are pretty much official now, huh?"

Even though she hadn't said anything particularly offensive, my cheeks flared red again. "Yeah, I guess."

"You guess? Girl, there's no doubt after _that_ heavy lip-lock."

"It wasn't a 'heavy lip-lock'" I defended.

She nodded knowingly. "Ah, the denial stage."

"Denial stage of _what_?"

"Dating. An area that, no offense or anything, I have _much_ more experience in than you do."

"We're not _dating_…" And we weren't. Not in the intended sense of the word, anyway.

"Mm-hmm." she nodded knowingly. "I repeat: denial."

"Why don't you tell me about all of _your_ boyfriends." I just wanted to direct the conversation away from me.

It worked. Tori launched into a steady stream of babbling about every relationship she was ever in. As she talked I nodded, pretending to listen. I think she knew I didn't really care but she still talked, gazing into the distance with a wistful expression on her face. I knew it helped her to focus on happier, normal-er times.

Did I miss those times? I though about it for a minute before deciding I didn't. Initially I would have given anything to go back to my prior life but now that I have Derek, and Simon, and yes- even _Tori_, I couldn't imagine living without them.

Right on cue the guys walked in looking glum, laden down with plastic grocery bags. "Any luck?" I asked as they plopped the bags down on the floor.

"Depends. Do you like moldy bread, brown bananas, and stale raisons?" Simon said.

"De-lic-ious." Tori dragged out the word, wrinkling her nose.

"That was the best they had." Derek pulled out a (bruised) apple and tossed it to me. I missed and it thumped to the ground, adding _another_ bruise.

"Nice," Tori nodded at my lack of hand-eye coordination, bringing on _more_ blushing. My face was on the verge of becoming a permanent tomato.

"Dinner" was eaten mostly in silence and then we took turns showering. Never before had hot water felt so good, and I would have been content to stand there letting it peel away the layers of dirt for an hour. Unfortunately, Tori's pounding on the door insisting I "Don't waste all the hot water!" hurried me up.

After that we were all so tired we decided going to bed sounded like a good idea. Since our door locked it was reached the conclusion that we didn't need a sentry. From the look on Derek's face, though, I suspected he wouldn't dare fall asleep anyway.

Tori and I were nominated for the beds and no amount of protesting (mostly mine) could change the guys minds. "We're good on the floor," Simon tugged the comforter off my bed and grabbed one of the surplus pillows.

"If you're sure…" I didn't really want to argue anymore; the thin stained mattress looked more inviting than any tree branch I had dozed off on in the past few days.

"Go to bed Chloe." Simon advised. So I did.

I woke up to a dark room, lit only by the glowing red numbers of the alarm clock. The comforting sounds of my friends' breathing filled the room, steady with sleep. All but one.

I cautiously disentangled myself from the sheets and stood up, wincing as the mattress creaked. The figure sitting leaned up against the wall near the door turned towards me.

"Hey." I greeted, slumping down next to Derek.

"What are you doing awake?"

"What are _you_ doing awake?" I retorted.

"Touché."

I cut right to the chase, needing to talk to him alone. "I want to take the bullet out."

He groaned softly. "Chloe, we've already established-"

"Just listen, ok? They will be able to find us wherever we are because of this. It's putting all of our _lives_ in danger." My whisper had risen with the force of my argument and I dropped down to breathing the words again "it's got to go."

"Chloe, we can't."

"Why?" I challenged.

"You could die. Whether from blood loss, tetanus, or god knows what else."

"So you won't do it because you're scared _I_ might die?" I clarified, glad I had an argument against this.

"Yeah." he sounded wary, clearly he hadn't missed the barely concealed triumph in my voice.

"Ok, so there's the slightest chance I'd die if we tried to get the bullet out. But what if the Edison Group showed up here while we were all asleep?" Derek would have to sleep _sometime_. "Then we could _all_ die. Are you really willing to risk your life," he snorted, "Tori's life," his shoulders were shaking with silent laughter, "Simon's life," he instantly sobered, thoughtfully silent, "all for me? Because if they came here they'd find me too. Either way my life's in danger. Are you willing to put the others' in danger too?"

He was silent for so long that I feared he wasn't going to answer. "Have you ever thought of becoming a lawyer?" he said at last.

I elbowed him. "I'm serious."

He sighed. "You _are_ very persuasive-"

"So you agree?" I felt hope rising in my chest.

"No. I see your point but I still think you're overreacting. We have no proof that the bullet's really how they knew where we were-"

"But Liz _heard_ them!" I countered.

"Liz could be wrong," his voice was steady and even.

"Liz wasn't wrong about the trap! She wasn't wrong about-" I stopped. I had been about to say 'your dad'. "Anything." I finished lamely.

"Well that doesn't mean she's not wrong this time-"

"I trust her." I said firmly. "She-" several feet away Simon mumbled and rolled over in his sleep. I waited until his breathing deepened again before continuing, "She's helping us. And what she says makes sense."

"Chloe? The answers no. We will _try_ to find a hospital that will take you without making us filling out a gazillion forms, but if that doesn't happen, you're just going to have to live with it. Ok?"

"No." I mumbled, crossing my arms dejectedly like a pouty child.

"Chloe…" he sighed.

"Fine. We won't do anything. Yet." I wasn't about to let the matter drop.

We sat in silence for a few minutes. "You should probably try and get some more sleep," he whispered after a while.

"What about you?"

"Not tired."

"Liar."

"Chloe, I'm fine."

"You haven't slept in god knows how long-"

"I'll sleep once we get further away from this place, ok?"

"Derek, please?"

"Go to bed Chloe."

Shaking my head but knowing on this he was adamant, I went back to my bed. "'Night Derek." I whispered before slipping back beneath the covers and into a blissful sleep.

**You didn't think I'd really kill **_**Derek**_** did you? Hahaha. Sorry this chapter is kind of long and uneventful, but I really wanted to include this dialogue. And yes, I know the intense kiss between Chloe and Derek right after they are almost killed is kind of unrealistic/OOC, but I imagined he would be so relieved his emotions would just spill over. Besides, I thought it would be a really sweet reunion (although it kind of sucks for Simon). Speaking of, thanks to the TEN people who responded to my poll! Simon loves you all! Please, please, please, please take my poll if you haven't already! It's on my profile.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Just a heads up- don't let the slow beginning turn you away. There's some action later on!**

I could never decide if the next few days dragged or passed in a blur. They were an endless cycle of walking, sleeping, eating, and spending money. Each time we stopped at one of the rare convenience stores we passed to buy food we were forced to watch our money supply dip lower and lower, but what could we do about it? We had to eat, and withdrawing more money from my account would be the equivalent of flashing a skyscraper sized neon arrow above our heads. Every ATM we passed seemed to be laughing at us.

Every night as it got dark we would set up camp. Sometimes we found ourselves in a small country town with a cheap motel we could stay in. More often we were left to fend for ourselves in the fields and forests bordering the road. We would force down the rancid food and then curl up in a heap for warmth. It would have been better if we had had our backpacks from the house with us, but of course when running for our lives we hadn't thought to grab them. In hindsight, that probably wasn't one of our finest moments. My heart ached as I realized how much more we would have if we had gotten the chance to retrieve our bags: extra money, decent food, camping supplies, spare clothes (by this point our single outfits were so disgusting I was prepared to burn them and go nude if it hadn't been so cold).

The morale in our little group was descending rapidly, too. Most of our walking was done in silence. After a few days, there's nothing left to say.

All this would have been easier if we had access to public transportation. Surprisingly, none of the towns we passed through had a bus stop. This is what you get when you get lost in the country- small towns with equally small-minded people who never _go_ anywhere. And yes, I am aware that is majorly stereotypical- but so far in my experience that is proving to be true.

One night we were eating as usual, no one saying anything, when I decided to again bring up the topic of the bullet. I had tried several times in the last few days to persuade them, but every time I did I was shot down.

"I'm surprised the Edison Group hasn't found us by now." I said, breaking the silence that had been stretching on for the past few hours.

"That's optimistic," Tori observed.

I ignored her. "I mean, what with the tracking bullet and all it's just a matter of time-"

"Chloe, we've _had_ this conversation. Our answer isn't going to change."

"But it's putting us _all_ at risk-"

"We have heard this all before. Don't you have any _other_ arguments?" Tori sneered.

"You agreed it should come out! That's why we went to St. Morrisons, right?" Two days ago we had passed through a town that had a small hospital and had tried to go into the emergency room but had been stopped by the first line of the paper work the nurse had given us to fill out. Parent/Guardian signature. We could have forged it but it was pretty obvious that there were no adults with us. I wasn't totally surprised, I knew hospitals needed a lot of personal information that we couldn't get, but it didn't help my cause.

"We agreed that you _should_ get the bullet out, but if it's too dangerous it's not worth it. So, since the hospital did _not_ work out, you're just going to have to wait until we come up with a better solution." Derek informed me calmly. This was just a slight variation of the retorts he'd been giving me for the past week.

"You _know_ it's an issue-"

"We don't _know_ anything," Simon reminded me. "We can't be sure-"

"But Liz said-"

"Oh yeah? Well where is Liz now so you can ask her again? I'm pretty sure she would tell you that she could have been wrong."

"She left. I _told_ you that." It was true. Soon after our escape Liz had appeared to me and said she wanted some alone time to do some "private investigation". I wasn't sure if she had meant investigating us and the Edison Group or her mom, but either way I encouraged her to go.

"Well then we can't ask her if she maybe made a mistake so there's nothing else to do for now." Derek's tone indicated the end of the argument.

I sighed. This was how this debate ended every night. Would I ever win?

I woke up to a stinging pain in my left arm. At first, I thought I had just rolled over onto a sharp rock, but when I blinked my eyes open I was staring straight into a bug-like face. Night vision goggles.

Instantly my every sense was alert, although my limbs felt weighed down with lead. The Edison Group had caught up to us, as I had known they would. I had to warn the others…

The figure bending over me stood and straightened, gesturing to other figures that melted out of the black forest around us. How many were there?

I wanted to yell out to Derek but couldn't make my mouth move. I had no control over my body. The syringe the figure was tucking into his belt pouch provided my explanation. He must have drugged me somehow.

Beside me the others didn't stir. Their breathing was long and heavy; they must have been drugged too. Panic swelled up to dominate my brain, leaving me running in circles for ideas. The figures were now pulling out more needles, probably planning on sedating us further. I couldn't let that happen.

What can I do? What can I do? What can I do? I chanted over and over in my mind. Then it dawned on me. It wasn't a matter of What can I do? but a matter of What can _I_ do?

In a moldy old forest there was bound to be some rotting corpse of a poor woodland animal nearby. I stopped trying to struggle against the drug that bound me and instead focused on reaching out with my powers, probing the soil for any traces of bodies I could raise. The very thought repulsed me but with the others knocked out, I had no better idea. Even something as small as a mouse would suit my purpose- I didn't plan on using it to physically take out the guards.

About a dozen feet to my left was some decomposing critter. I didn't bother trying to find out what but just directed all my energy at slamming its sole back into its body. _Come over here,_ I prayed, hoping it had worked.

It had. "What the-" One of the silent figures yelped. The sound somehow made them seem more human, less alien in the blackness. More defeatable.

"Saunders girl must be awake." one of them said in a grim voice. "Drug her again." A figure bent over me, brandishing a needle. Inside I went nuts, writhing to get away. Of course that had no effect on my actual body.

Next to me I felt someone shift; a movement so subtle I wouldn't have noticed it had I not been hyper-aware of my motionless body. The needle was still descending, swooping in towards my right arm.

Then suddenly, the figure was gone- flung back into the air.

"What the-" someone (probably the same guy as before) started, but their exclamation was cut off by a feral growl.

My plan had worked. Derek was awake. And better yet, my hypothesis had been proven correct. He was strong enough to overrule the drugs.

"Sedate him!" Someone bellowed, but Derek was whirling around tossing the caught-off-guard figures into the darkness.

All the cries of outrage were enough to drag Simon and Tori out of their hazy stupors. "Wha-?" Simon slurred, beads of sweat glistening on his brow from the exertion of that one almost-syllable.

Tori didn't say anything but her face was screwed up in deep concentration. After several moments her trembling hands lifted and pointed at the nearest guard. He froze.

I didn't have any more time to worry about my friends. I concentrated on the creature I had reawaken, directing it towards one of the Edison Group members.

I knew it wouldn't be able to do any real damage but it served the purpose of scaring the guard who's foot it was crawling over. With a girlish shriek he pelted into the forest.

One by one, each of us using our own talents to slowly take down the Edison Group ambush, we were able to get rid of them. Whether they had run away, frozen, or been knocked unconscious, we were now virtually alone in the clearing.

I sat up with tangible effort, breathing heavily. "Everyone ok?" Slowly I was finding it easier and easier to move.

"Yeah." came from three different directions.

"Well," there was bitter triumph in my voice. "At least now we _know_ the bullet has to come out."

**Yes, the fight **_**is**_** somewhat unrealistic, so sorry about that. Other than that was it ok? **_**Now**_** do you think Derek will listen to her about the bullet?**


	15. Chapter 15

Ok, looking back on my prior chapters I'm realizing my story has gone into a kind of slump (meaning it's been steadily getting worse and worse). Hopefully this chapter will break that trend…so please tell me if it does. Or if I'm delusional and my story's the best you've ever read (haha, JK.) I'd like to give partial credit to Bertle who made up my mind about what was going to happen in this chapter. I had thought about it but wasn't sure if it was too farfetched, but Bertle's review proved it wasn't-or that someone else has a mind as twisted as mine :)

"**We knew they were tracking us. This doesn't prove your whole "tracking bullet" hypothesis." Derek countered, breathing hard. **

**I glared at him. "Well if not that, then **_**what**_**? **_**How**_** did they just find us?"**

"**Um…look, I know you guys are prepared for a whole debate on this but can we please have it **_**later**_**?" Simon looked pointedly at the nearest unconscious guard. **

"**Ugh," Tori groaned, using a low hanging tree branch to hoist herself to a standing position, "anyone else feel like they're swimming in pudding?"**

"**Not pudding. Pudding would make me happier. Maybe jello- the lime jello that nobody likes." Simon mused. For a guy who was just yelling at us to hurry up and leave he sure gets distracted easily. **

"**Let's go." We all started walking as fast as we could, which was painstakingly slow. It was like that time I had agreed to go to the gym with my Aunt Lauren and had had to walk around with weights tied to my feet, every step was a strain. **

**After about half an hour of walking I was feeling more or less normal. At least it only took the usual amount of energy to perform any given task. The others must have felt the same, for our pace picked up considerably. We even broke into a jog for a half mile or so until just plain exhaustion brought us back to a walk. **

**Finally we stopped again. "Ok, **_**now**_** you guys can argue." Simon said as he sunk to the ground and began rummaging in his backpack for a granola bar. **

"**We're taking the bullet out," I put in right away. **

"**No." Derek glared at me from where he was leaning back against a tree trunk. **

"**Why?" At this point the question was a mere technicality. I'd already heard the answer dozens of times.**

"**Too dangerous," he reminded me.**

"**We were just **_**attacked**_**. In our **_**sleep**_**! What do you think would have happened if you hadn't woken up?"**

"**Something bad," he admitted, "probably painful. It was pretty lucky that guard's yelp was loud enough."**

**I snorted. "**_**Lucky**_**? That was because he saw **_**my**_** rabbit crawling around!" I didn't know why it was bothering me so much that he wasn't giving me the credit. I guess a small part in the back of my mind had been hoping for his praise.**

"**Yeah, yeah, you're both wonderful." Tori looked exasperated. "Now can we please shut up and try and sleep? In case you haven't noticed, it's still dark out."**

"**Sorry," Derek muttered. "I'm kinda tense right now."**

"_**Really**_**?" Tori gasped with faked surprise.**

"**That **_**was**_** a good idea of yours, Chloe," he looked up at me earnestly and I saw the frustration swirling in his electric eyes. Poor Derek, he didn't know what to do. For him that was hell. I now felt silly for being resentful of him saying being woken up was "lucky" before. **

"**Thanks," I said, the word caught off by a yawn. **

"**I know we're all really tired but I think we should keep moving," Derek's motto: when in doubt- keep moving. "After all, the more distance we put between us and them, the harder it will be for them to find us again."**

"**They can find us anyway," I said but my heart wasn't really in the argument. Not at the moment, at least. **

"**Let's go," Simon sighed and dusted himself off, slinging his backpack back around his shoulders. Tori gave a little groan but didn't otherwise complain. **

**It was a relief when we stopped about an hour later. This time, even Derek couldn't keep his eyes open. **

**No one woke us up.**

"**They **_**are**_** going to find us again." I said decisively. We had just woken up (thankfully alone) and I had used the time to restart the argument. How many times had we had it by now?**

"**And taking out the bullet will prevent that?" Derek snapped. **

"**Yes!"**

"**Here we go again," Tori looked at Simon and rolled her eyes. A look of annoyance furrowed his brow. It was obvious they were both getting fed up with this. **

"**And you know this how?"**

"**I told you, Liz said-"**

"**I don't give a crap about what **_**Liz**_** said! She's not here! She doesn't know what the hell is going through our lives! She's a **_**ghost**_**! You think she'd consider it a hardship if you died too?"**

**That was over the line. "Liz is my **_**best friend**_**! Of course she doesn't want me to **_**die!**_** I can't believe you would even **_**suggest**_** that!" Out of the corner of my eye I saw Simon and Tori's heads swiveling back and forth between us as if they were watching an intense ping-pong match.**

"**I didn't say she **_**wants**_** you to die! I just said she wouldn't be overly **_**upset**_** if it **_**did**_** happen!" **

"**And **_**you**_** would?" My temper flared. **

"**Of **_**course**_** I would!" he yelled. "When will you understand that I **_**love you!**_**" He turned on his heel and stormed away into the forest. **

**I gasped, going totally numb inside as I tried to think back on all of our romantic moments. Was that the first time he actually said the l-word? **

"**Wow." Tori said at last when it became obvious no one else was going to say anything. "That was…"**

"**Dramatic?" Simon supplied. **

"**Yep. **_**Very**_** dramatic." **

**A rustle in the undergrowth ahead of us and Derek popped out. "Are you coming?" he growled, clearly not over his anger yet. We obediently followed him, trekking through the forest. **

**It was a silent walk, even more so than all the other ones we had gone on in the past few days. No one dared to say anything except Derek, who would occasionally mutter something under his breath. He kept a firm barrier of twenty paces between us so I couldn't make out the words, though I thought I caught my name at one point. **

**When we next reached a town we stopped to pick up some food. And get this- this town was actually big enough to have a souvenir shop selling t-shirts **_**and**_** a bus stop. Our luck had taken a positive turn at last. **

"**Ok, we'll split up. You girls go get some clean clothes-"**

"**Thank **_**God**_**," Tori plucked at her threadbare t-shirt with distaste. **

"**-And Simon and I will go buy some food. Ok? Meet back here in forty five minutes. Tori, do you have money?" he was carefully **_**not**_** addressing me, even though he knew Tori didn't have any. **

"_**I**_** don't but **_**Chloe**_** does," she said with a sideways glance at me. I nodded, even though he hadn't asked me for confirmation. **

"**All right. Just get enough clothes so we each have two outfits." **

"**And no hot pink t-shirts for me, please," Simon put in with a mischievous glint in his eye. **

"**Hmm…wasn't going to but now that doesn't sound like a terrible idea…" Tori teased, eyes equally twinkling. I studied their expressions as they grinned at each other and thought for the first time I noticed something close to **_**romance**_** there. Could Simon and Tori be falling for each other? The idea struck me as odd, but not impossible. However, the connection seemed to disappear as quickly as it had come as the boys turned and headed towards the food store. **

**Tori and I headed towards the souvenir shop (souvenirs for **_**what**_** I had no idea. Did anyone really want a t-shirt that says 'I heart Madisonville, PA' on it?). Fortunately we weren't the only pedestrians in this town, we passed several couples and one group of teenagers our age hanging out together in front of a coffee shop. **

"**So," I braved at last, "do you and Simon, you know, **_**like**_** each other?"**

**She looked at me out of the corner of her eye, not bothering to turn her head. "Why would you think **_**that**_**? I mean, I know I used to like him back at Lyle house when my choices were him and your ugly werewolf boyfriend," I glared at her and she hastened to add, "no offense or whatever, but I never **_**really**_** liked him."**

**I shrugged. "No, I mean it just looked like you two-"**

"**No." she said firmly with a little shake of her head, effectively closing the matter. **

**We had reached the souvenir store by now. It was empty except for us and the guy with the nose ring and Mohawk at the counter, bobbing his head to his ipod. I veered away from her down a different aisle, allowing my fingers to traipse along the scratchy cheap fabric. Still, I wanted those clean clothes so bad it hurt like a physical ache. **

"**Finding anything?" I asked Tori as we reunited at the end of the aisles. **

"**Hey, I'm not going to be picky. Just as long as they're **_**clean**_**," she said with relish. **

**I left the t-shirt aisles and started idly wandering around by the actual souvenirs- the snow globes, the magnets…**

**Then a keychain caught my eye. It was a small, engraved pocket knife. **_**Perfect**_**.**

**We were ready to check out twenty minutes later. We had picked out two t-shirts for each of us: X-large for Derek, Mediums for Simon and Tori, and X-small for me. Tori got a kick out of that. Unfortunately there were no pants being sold (though I wasn't totally surprised; only the big tourist centers get their logos on pants, like Disney world) so our jeans would have to be kept. **

**As we dropped our finds on the counter for the guy to check out, Tori's eyes bugged open. I followed her gaze to the pocket knife I had put there. "Later," I mouthed, and she nodded her understanding. **

**Outside the store, each of us laden down with shopping bags, Tori turned to me. "Ok, what's with the knife?"**

"**I have to get the bullet out." I responded evenly, praying she would understand. **

**Fortunately, she did. "Derek's going to kill you." she said matter-of-factly. **

"**I know," I sighed, "but I hate putting you guys in danger." She bit her lip but didn't say anything else. **

**The guys were already waiting for us at the designated rendezvous. "Find any clothes?" Simon asked as we approached. **

"**Yep," Tori nodded, "Hot pink just for you, Simon."**

"**Great," he looked less than thrilled. **

**We waited until dark before going to a public bathroom in the park to change and get clean. "You girls can go first," Derek said, nodding at the door. **

"**No, why don't you guys go first?" I offered, palms sweating. He had to accept if my plan was to work. Otherwise, they would get antsy waiting for me to finish my attempt at "surgery", maybe even coming in and seeing what was taking so long. No, I had to go **_**after**_** them.**

**Derek gave me a suspicious look but after a moment nodded. Ok. We'll be right out." I sat down beside Tori on the bench outside the bathroom to wait. **

**Pretty soon the guys emerged in the fresh t-shirts. "You don't know just how **_**amazing**_** this feels! Being clean-ah." Simon sighed in contentment. **

"**Well we **_**will**_** know in a few minutes if you two get your butts out of the way," Tori picked up one of her new t-shirts from the bag. I did the same, subtly tucking the knife inside it as I did so. **

**In the bathroom I quickly stripped down to my bra, peeling away the stiff shirt. A wave of nausea rolled over me as I pulled it over my head. It was hard to believe I had smelled like **_**that**_** for the past week. **

**Tori had already taken off her own shirt and was wetting paper towels and rubbing them all over her torso. "What?" She asked when she caught me giving her a curious look. "The closest we've got to showers right now." **

"**True." It **_**was**_** a good idea. I knew I should just get on with the "surgery" but couldn't resist the temptation of getting clean, so I copied her. I soaked the brown paper towel, before wiping it across my shoulders, reveling in the cool relief of cleanliness it brought as the excess water dripped down my chest. After so much grit and dirt from the road, it was heavenly. **

**I couldn't spend as much time getting clean as I would have liked, however. I pulled on my navy t-shirt. Tori was still washing herself with the wet paper towel, eyes closed in rapture. I picked up the knife from where I had set it down on the sink rim. Resolutely I flipped open the blade and raised the hem of my shirt. I unwrapped the strips of material wound around my waist. The bullet injury was dime sized, a deep puckered pink, scabbed over around the edges. **_**I will not puke**_**, I vowed. **

**Tori was done dressing by now. "I'm going to wait outside." she was pointedly **_**not**_** looking at the injury. No doubt she wanted to escape what was sure to be a gory scene. I didn't blame her. If I could have, I would have escaped too. **

"**Ok. Just…tell them I'm not done yet." **

"**Will do. But Chloe-" she turned from where she was at the door. "Are you sure you want to do this?" I nodded shakily. "Ok. Good luck." she opened the door just a crack and slipped out before the others could glimpse inside. **

**I took a deep breath and poised the blade above my stomach, lightly touching it to the injury. **_**On the count of three**_**, I promised myself. **_**One…two…three…now.**_** My hand didn't move. **_**Ok…now.**_** Still nothing. **

**Much as I tried I could not force myself to make the cut. I gritted my teeth and tried to force my hand but it didn't obey. **

"**Chloe?" A knock on the door. "You ok?"**

"**She's fine!" I distantly heard Tori snap. "Just give her a few more minutes?"**

**I was wasting valuable time. Why couldn't I have the guts to do it?**

**To my horror, the door opened and Derek walked in. "Chloe, what's taking so-" he froze in the doorway, eyes trained on the knife I was holding above my stomach. In three quick strides he was next to me, snatching the knife out of my numb hand. We stood there for a moment, both of us locked in place, him holding the open knife and me with one hand still raising the hem of my shirt. "You were really going to do it, weren't you?" he said at last, looking resigned. I couldn't move. "All right," he sighed. "We'll do it your way. Tomorrow night we will help you get the bullet out."**

_**Now**_** will Derek still help her? Or will he break his promise? Guesses? **

**And **_**PLEASE**_ (**there is no other technological way to accentuate that word but it is really important) take my poll! Simon's love life is in your hands! So far a total of 11 amazing people have taken it…but Simon needs more support! I am getting close to the part where I was planning on talking about his love life so immediate responses will be appreciated! Thank you in advance! (and sorry I'm being so obnoxious about it…I just feel bad for Simon)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Advance warning: something major will be revealed about Derek.**

We hopped on a bus and rode through the rest of the night. All four of us took the time to catch up on our sleep. When we were all awake we decided to use the time to plan.

"So what's the next step going to be?" Tori asked, leaning forward to rest chin on the V between Derek and Simon's seats.

"We have to find our dad." Simon said determinedly. I internally grimaced, knowing I would have to tell them soon. Tori's face also scrunched up as if she was contemplating something immensely unpleasant.

"But if we can't-" She started, but Simon cut her off.

"We _will_. He'll help us."

"Well," her voice for once wasn't malicious but surprisingly gentle, "we haven't really made much progress towards finding him, so maybe we should start looking into other options…"

"No." Simon crossed his arms, his bottom lip jutting out. He looked like an angry child. _Although, that's what he _is _in this case_, I reminded myself. He was just a kid who needed his dad. I needed my dad too, but I knew he wouldn't be any help. Simon believed his dad would _fix_ things; it must be hard to give up on that belief.

"Chloe? What do _you_ think?" Tori turned to me for help.

"I…" what could I say that wouldn't be betraying Simon and Derek? "I think we should keep looking for him while at the same time looking for other options. I mean, I don't want to give up on finding him anymore than _you_ do," lies "but if we haven't found anything about him yet…" I trailed off, not being the one to say the truth: we should move on.

Tori sighed. "Of course, a diplomatic answer. Derek?"

He didn't answer right away, green eyes glazed and distant. At last he sighed. "I think Chloe's right."

Simon shot a sharp look at him which he pretended not to notice. "But we _are_ still going to look for him right?" he said after a moment.

"Of course." Derek said.

"Fine," sighed Tori.

Simon turned to me, waiting for my agreement. I swallowed noisily. _I should just tell them_ I thought to myself. _Now would be the perfect time_. Instead I said "Ok."

We sat in silence for a few minutes, mulling over the next step (or in _my_ case- listening to the logical voice in the back of my mind yell at me for being a wimp). Finally, Derek asked the million dollar question. "Where should we look for him?"

"We could just keep trying all his aliases," Simon suggested.

"I thought we've tried them all," Derek frowned.

"Well I'm sure there's some we haven't thought to try…" That was a joke. Derek forgetting something so crucial to finding their dad? Never.

"Yeah, maybe," Derek looked doubtful.

"What else could you use to find him?" I prompted.

"What about your tracker spell, Simon?" Tori turned to him. "Has that been working?"

"I don't know," he chewed on his lower lip. "I've been trying it but nothing's happened…although if he isn't nearby I don't think anything really _should_ happen so it might be working and he's just far away."

"Why don't you show it to me and _I'll_ try?" Tori suggested. I saw the hurt flash through Simon's eyes and felt a stab of sympathy for both of them. For Tori because she was just trying to be nice and hadn't realized the effect her words would have on him. For Simon for having to deal with the fact that he was normal, meaning- less powerful.

"Ok," he shrugged, turning to stare out at the countryside blurring past through the window. Tori slumped dejectedly back into her seat, letting her breath out in a short and heavy "_Huff_."

"So what's our plan for the _immediate_ future?" I asked, wanting to veer away from the subject of Kit.

"Survive?" Simon suggested helpfully, still staring out the window.

"We can't keep this up forever," Tori reminded us all.

"Keep up what?" Simon turned back to her, brown eyes guarded.

"This," she waved her hand through the air gesturing at our general surroundings. "Living on the streets, endless walking, wearing the same clothes for _weeks_ at a time. I mean, do you realize how unhygienic that is? I would literally _kill_ for a shower right now…preferably one that could last twelve hours."

"I could second that," Derek put in. Simon and I nodded our agreements.

"Look, all I'm saying is we need a plan." She rested her chin in her hand and her elbow on her knee. "Some goal we can work towards. And, sorry guys, but finding your dad just isn't it."

"Then what_ should_ we do?" Simon sighed.

"First things first, I think we should withdraw some more from an ATM." I said firmly. The three of them looked at me like I'd said we should run down the street naked doing the chicken dance. "Look, I know it'll be risky, but I've been watching our money and it's not going to last us much longer. We either need to get somewhere we can get help or get more money. Besides, if we're going to do it we might as well withdraw while we still have the tracking bullet. It won't really be telling them anything they don't already know."

I paused to let that sink in. At last Derek nodded thoughtfully. "You're right. We _can't_ keep living like this without getting more money. It'll tell them right where we are, though…"

"But we've already decided they already _know_ that."

"Is there any other safe places your dad told you guys to go to? Preferably not someone who will not betray us?" Simon winced at Tori's harsh reference to Andrew but he didn't protest.

"No…I mean, I don't _think_ so…" he chewed on his lip some more.

"May." Derek said, so softly I thought I imagined it.

Simon glanced at his brother swiftly, concern on his face. "Derek…"

"She would help. I think." Derek was staring hard at his hands, fingers intertwined.

"May would be…?" Tori prompted when neither of the boys offered any explanation. I was relieved she had so I wouldn't have to be the one to ask.

"My mom." Derek breathed, even softer than before.

I thought I heard wrong. "_Who_ is she?"

"My mom." he said, louder, though he didn't look up from his hands.

"You're…mom?" Somehow I had never thought of Derek as having a family other than Kit and Simon. Certainly he had never mentioned it… I found it hard to imagine Derek as a baby, being rocked to sleep in some smiling woman's arms.

He nodded. Simon put a hand on his shoulder, a gesture of brotherly affection and support. "You remember her address?" he asked gently.

"Yeah. She's still in the city."

"And you think she'll help?" Simon was asking all the questions, Tori and I were both still paralyzed with shock.

Derek nodded again. "She'll do what she can, I'm sure."

Tori snapped out of her reverie. "I'm sorry, but since when does Mr. Werewolf have a _mom_?"

Simon shot her an exasperated look. "Look, you must've had "the talk" before. You know…you need a mom and a dad to-"

"Ok!" she cut him off with a disgusted shake of her head. "_Way_ too much information. What I _meant_ to say, since when does Mr. Werewolf have a mom that will _help_ him."

"She's his mom- of course she'll _help_ him." Simon defended.

"Let's hope." Derek sighed.

"I just mean…ugh! How to _put_ this? Chloe?" She turned to me for help.

"I _think_ you're trying to ask how long has he been in touch with his mom and what's the relationship between them?" I guessed.

"Yeah. Pretty much. So, Derek? Any explanations?"

He looked up, green eyes stormy like a tropical ocean. "Dad wanted me to keep in touch with her." Dad being Kit, of course. "He kept saying she cares about me and if I'm ever in trouble it would be good to have her as a contact. I guess he was right."

"You're _dad_ told you to contact her in times of trouble?" I was instantly skeptical.

He didn't seem to notice, carrying on in that detached tone. "Yeah. I'm not sure what good it'll do us, but we can try. Probably get a hot meal at least."

"So you've kept in contact with her all these years?" I asked, intrigued.

He barked a harsh laugh. "Yeah, I guess you could call it that. Just a five minute telephone call once or twice a year and occasionally sending letters to each other."

"But why…" I stopped myself, realizing my question might bring up answers he wouldn't want to indulge.

He guessed where I was headed. "Did I grow up with Simon and his dad? My mom wasn't- isn't -completely mentally stable. That's largely due to her drug overdoses…"

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that…" I couldn't imagine my Aunt Lauren being a drug addict.

Derek shrugged. "It's no big deal. Not like I live with her."

"Still…" I didn't know what else to say.

After a while of silence Simon asked if any of us knew where the bus was stopping next. "Somewhere near Binghamton." Derek answered automatically.

"And, since I suck at geography, _how_ close is that to NYC?" Tori asked. "'cause that's where we're going, right? Isn't that where you said your mom lives, Derek?"

"That's where she _used_ to live. I have no idea if she's still living there now. And I'm wondering if that was a good idea. Now that I think about it, the city's pretty close to Andrew's house…"

"And we _don't_ want to go back there, do we?" Simon said briskly.

"Not if we can help it." his brother agreed.

"Why don't you call May first?" I suggested. "Do you still remember her number?"

Derek hesitated then nodded. "Yeah. I think so. I never bothered to put it on my cell phone so I had to memorize it."

"So we'll call her, just to see if she's still there and willing to help us, and _then_ we'll go." Everyone nodded their agreement.

That decided, we pulled from our backpacks energy bars and peanut butter sandwiches that we had made the night before. A feast fit for kings.

We settled back into our seats for the rest of the ride: Simon doodling, Derek studying the bus map, Tori obsessively fiddling with her hair, and me thinking about our lives as a movie. This was a subject I could understand. I thought up a cast of celebrities to play each of us, imagined what special effects we would need, and even came up with some of the stage directions and dialogues I would have included had I been the director.

After my butt had long since gone numb from sitting still for so long, we dismounted from the bus. The sky was just fading to purple as we walked up to an ATM situated on the outskirts of a park. We had agreed by mutual consensus that we wouldn't really be risking anything by withdrawing since they already knew our location. This would probably- hopefully- be our last time using it, though, so I withdrew the limit. Several hundred dollars had never felt so good in my hand before.

"This'll hold us for a while." Derek nodded with satisfaction then distributed the money between the four of us (the whole 'don't put all your eggs in one basket' approach). We had yet to find a pay phone for Derek to call his mom. That whole sentence still felt weird in my mind…Derek's "mom".

"Are we going to play doctor now?" Tori asked, looking at me. I hope they didn't notice my fearful shiver.

"When it gets a little darker." Derek looked up at the sky. "But we might as well gather supplies for it now."

"Supplies?" My voice came out as a squeak. What did he want- massive scalpels? Needles? Saws? (although I'm pretty sure doctors only use saws in horror movies).

"A better knife, for starters." he pulled the knife I had bought from his sweatshirt pocket.

"What's wrong with that one?" I demanded.

"Too flimsy." in one clean motion he grabbed the blunt end and snapped the blade off.

"Well of course _you_ can break it with your freaky super powers." Tori snorted.

"Where do you propose we get another one?" I asked through gritted teeth. I wouldn't put it past Derek to have pulled this just to have an excuse _not_ to do the surgery.

He shrugged. "We'll look around."

Of course, 'we'll look around' meant picking up a rusted blade that he found in the corner of an ally. "No." I shook my head at it. "No way."

"Why? He used a corner of his sweatshirt to wipe away some of the dirt on it. I realized it wasn't really rusty, just covered in grit.

"That can notbe_ sanitary._" Tori scowled.

"It's a good knife." he defended. "Nice and sturdy." he bent it a little to show that it wouldn't break.

"It's probably from some homeless guy!"

"Well we don't have a better one-"

"You don't just pick up knives off the street! Especially one that you plan to use in _surgery_!" I argued. "He could have _mugged_ someone with it- or killed someone!"

He brought the knife up to his nose and sniffed. "No blood. I don't think it's ever even been used."

"Then what's it doing _here_? In an ally?"

He shrugged. "It's the only decent knife we have. We're going to have to just sterilize it…unless you don't want to risk this surgery at all?"

"No. We're doing it. Even if it means we have to use some rusted knife."

"It's not ru-"

"Let's just get this over with, ok?"

Wearily he nodded. "We should try and find some antiseptic first, though."

"Fine." I sighed. In a local pharmacy we found a bottle of rubbing alcohol and some real bandages.

Then Derek said it was dark enough.

He led us deep into the park to a small bathroom nestled among the trees. We went in and flicked on the light, locking the door behind us. Then it was time. Whatever happened to me, the bullet would soon be gone.

**Ok, admittedly I'm not crazy about this chapter as nothing really happens and it's kind of boring (although Derek having a mom…**_**I**_** was surprised when I thought of it). I promise the next one will be better! **

**(And the knife really isn't that bad…Chloe's just kind of paranoid in this chapter. Derek wouldn't do anything risky). **

**Oh, and FYI- this might be your last chance to take the Simon poll! I was planning on bringing the answer into the next chapter…**


	17. Chapter 17

_**Finally**_**, we get to the surgery…**

"And what's that for again?" I asked, eyeing the match being held to the knife warily.

"Sterilization."

"Right. Get rid of all the little germies on the knife you found in the corner of an alley. Now I _totally_ feel safe." I couldn't keep my terror from marring the sarcasm and Derek shot me a sharp look.

"This was _your_ idea, remember?" he pointed out.

"Yeah." I acknowledged, trying to quell the nausea rolling in my stomach.

"Not too late to change your mind." Simon reminded me.

I shook my head. "No way. They already found us once. It's not going to happen again."

"If you're sure…"

"I am."

"Ok. Simon? You ready to do this?"

His face was drained of all color but his mouth was set in a line of grim determination. He nodded shakily. I tried to ignore how much his obvious fear scared me.

"And you know what you're doing?" Tori, looking skeptical, piped up from where she lounged against the bathroom door, lips pursed like she ate something sour.

"Yeah." his voice wavered and he wiped sweaty palms on his jeans. "My forensics class went on a field trip to a morgue once-"

"Sounds fun," Tori muttered under her breath.

"-and we watched them cut open a dead body. I think I remember how they did it."

That image only made me feel more liable to barf. "And operating on me is comparable to that?"

"Not exactly…" he faltered, "but it's the closest experience we have."

"Why isn't _he_ doing it?" Tori pointed at Derek. "I thought it was him who was the majorly smart science geek?"

"I skipped Forensics. Jumped straight to AP Chem." Derek shrugged.

"Of course you did." she shook her head with resigned disgust. Secretly I couldn't help but wonder if that was the _real _reason Simon was doing it instead of Derek. It would be hard enough for him to watch, much less actually _do_ it. Although, I would have thought he would have wanted to do it himself since he's such a perfectionist and wouldn't want to risk Simon making a mistake…

I shook all thoughts of Simon and mistakes from my head. "All right. Let's get this over with." I ordered, sitting down on the cracked tiles of the bathroom floor and trying to ignore how gross it was.

"Tori? Remember to stand watch." Derek instructed as he knelt down on the floor beside me.

"Uh-huh. Because I'm sure there will be so many people wanting to use the bathroom of a nature preserve at two in the morning."

"Just do it." She muttered an incomprehensible response.

Simon turned to the sink and scrubbed his hands, shaking them dry when he was done. He crouched on the floor and accepted the knife that Derek proffered him. I tried to ignore the way his fingers shook. "Are _you_ ready, Chloe?" I didn't trust myself to speak so I nodded.

"Ok. Um…why don't you lie down…" Simon told me.

I cringed as I lowered myself down onto the dirty floor. "Here," Derek scooted forward on his knees so I could rest my head on his lap. I was grateful for his warm and stable presence beneath me.

"Here we go." Simon sucked in a breath and lifted the edge of my t-shirt. He gingerly peeled back the layers of bandage covering the injury. I didn't dare look down.

He raised the knife, poising it several inches above my stomach. Derek must have felt me tense because he took my hand in one of his own. "Squeeze." he commanded. I did as requested, gripping his hand like it was the ledge of the Empire state building and I was in danger of plummeting to the ground.

I'll spare you the gruesome details, but it was messy. And painful. And I have to admit I screamed. A lot. Not one of my finer moments.

Eventually, after several centuries of pain had already passed, it was over. The bullet that had been putting our lives at risk for so long was out.

"Chloe?" Derek was saying. "You ok?"

I was afraid of what I would say if I opened my mouth so I just nodded. I could feel some of the tension leave his muscles beneath me and heard his slight sigh of relief.

"Chloe? You're ok, right? _Please_ tell me you're ok!" Simon was begging. I nodded again, smiling slightly at him. I hoped he could read the gratitude in my eyes.

"Good job, bro." Derek grinned at him.

"Thanks." Simon looked even more relieved than I felt.

"Ugh, are you done with all the icky doctor stuff now?" I glanced up at Tori who had her back to us, leaning her forehead against the bathroom door.

"You can turn around now." Simon called over to her as he tugged my shirt back down over the recently applied bandage.

"Ew." I followed her gaze to the horror movie knife and Simon's red speckled hands. I felt a wave of nausea bubbling up inside me that couldn't be suppressed. I pulled myself up over the rim of the toilet, not caring how disgusting it was or how much it made my injury sting, and retched. Soothing hands rubbed circles on my back.

After a moment I slumped back to the ground, head reeling. The vomit had left a horrible taste in my mouth. Reading my mind, Derek offered me a water bottle from his backpack. I used it to rinse out my mouth, ignoring Simon at the sink trying to scrub away the blood.

Derek's green eyes were ringed with concern as I flopped back against the cool tiled wall, drawing strength from it's chill for my now sweaty body. After a moment I managed a "thanks". From the look of understanding that flashed through his eyes, I knew that he knew that it wasn't just for the water but for agreeing to this whole surgery thing in general.

"You should rest." He advised.

"Shouldn't we be going-"

"We've got time." he said firmly. "Rest."

"Ok," Suddenly that sounded like a good idea. I curled up in a ball, eyelids already drooping.

"Wait!" I yanked them open again. "Hang on a sec…" Derek turned to rummage in his backpack. He emerged with a granola bar a minute later. "Eat this. Fruit and juice would be better but we don't have any of that…"

My stomach was still roiling and just the thought of food repulsed me but I forced myself to nibble on the bar. As I was doing that, Derek pulled out a sweatshirt and bunched it up. I lay down again, using it as a pillow.

"Thanks," I repeated. I yawned.

I was vaguely aware of the bathroom door creaking and Tori asking "Where's he going?"

"To go throw the chip on a bus or something so they can't track us." Simon replied.

"I thought that only worked in movies?"

"Got a better idea?"

I fell asleep.

It seemed to be only seconds later that I was jolted awake by a fierce pounding and a scream. I bolted upright, wincing as the movement sent a flare of pain rushing through me.

"Don't move." someone growled.

"Derek? What's going on?" I leaned against the wall to stay upright.

"Someone's trying to get in."

I followed his tense gaze to the door which was shuddering with the force of the knocks. "Let me in!" a feminine voice wailed from the other side. "Please!"

"Do we open the door?" a white-faced Simon was poised with one hand on the door lock, ready to twist it.

"_Please_!" the voice begged, the doorknob clacking as she jiggled it.

"She sounds like she needs help-" Tori's voice was unusually compassionate.

"There's a guy with a _gun_ chasing me! _Please!_"

"Let her in." I ordered. I wasn't sure if she was serious about the gun or not, but her fear was genuine.

"Wait no!" Dereks yelped, nostrils flaring. "She's a-"

Simon flicked the lock and an orange blur tumbled in.

"-werewolf." Derek finished, moving between me and the girl who was now lying on the floor. Simon swung the door shut behind her and relocked it.

For a moment the only sound was the girl's labored breathing. I used the time to study her, wondering why she was being pursued (although I suppose if Derek's right and she _is_ a werewolf, that question is answered). Mentally I compared her to Derek, trying to see similarities between the two. She was lying in a heap on the floor but from what I could tell she was tall and lanky with mousy brown hair spilling to her shoulders. Her blue eyes were wide and terrified and her mouth hung slightly open as she struggled to regain her breath. Her orange v-neck shirt and scuffed jeans were rather ordinary.

There came another knock on the door. "Unlock this door." A deep voice commanded.

The four of us exchanged a look. No one moved to unlock the door.

"Thank you." The girl on the floor was sitting up, tucking a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. She looked to be about our age. "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't let me in."

"Are you ok?" Simon knelt down next to her, a look of gentle concern on his face.

"Yeah, I just-"

"Who are you?" Derek interrupted.

She met his gaze steadily. "Aliena."

"Last name?" Tori pressed.

"No offense, 'cause I know you saved me and everything, but I won't tell you that until I know I can trust you. I've been betrayed too many times in the past twenty four hours."

"Open the door!" The angry voice outside bellowed.

"Tell us your story." Derek commanded. "Start with him."

The girl's blue eyes challenged his defiantly for a moment before relaxing to look at the ground. She took a deep breath, (**Advanced warning: more legible copy bottom) **"'_never_'''tthebestideabutI'''soweneverhavetoseeheragain?'andhesaid'no'andthenhehandedthemacheck-a_check!_andmymomanddadsaid'she'syoursbutsheranaway,she'llbebacksoon,I'msure,''she'srightoverthere'andIcouldn'?''ttrytoshootme,Idon'tknowwhy,'soutthereandpleasedon'tlethiminIdon'tknowwhoheisbutIthinkhe''tknowwhy…"

All this was said in less than a minute; a jumbled expression of words and phrases, most of which I couldn't decipher. Derek, though, seemed to be able to understand for his eyes were watching her intently and his head was cocked just the slightest. By the end of her monologue tears were dripping down her narrow face and her eyes had migrated to rest fearfully on the door, which was still shaking.

"That's terrible," Simon said when she was finished, though his eyes had a thin layer of confusion draped over them. He must not have been able to understand it all, either.

"So we _don't_ let him in, right?" Tori clarified.

Derek narrowed his eyes at the door. "Definitely not. He's a werewolf."

"A werewolf?" the girl squeaked.

"You didn't know?" His voice was thick with skepticism.

"I didn't know he's a _werewolf_? Of course not- they don't exist!"

"Uh-huh." he shook his head at her mockingly. "Sure they don't."

"Oh my god." The girl's tears stopped instantly and a calculating look replaced the sorrow. She drew herself up to a standing position, backing against the wall. "You're all crazy too."

I didn't know what to say to comfort her so I didn't. Instead, I turned to Derek. "You think she's a werewolf?"

He hesitated before nodding. "Yeah. She's definitely a werewolf…but there's something off. It's like," he paused, struggling to come up with the right comparison. "A werewolf without the wolf."

"Wouldn't that just be a _human_?" Tori snorted.

"She's definitely _more_ than human." he said thoughtfully.

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

A curse echoed from the other side of the door and then came the distinct sound of crunching gravel from retreating footsteps. "He's leaving." Derek observed. "But he'll be back soon. We should leave."

"Wait- where are you going?" The girl who had been bristling moments before seemed to relax a bit.

"Nowhere that concerns you." Derek said prickly.

"Look," she sighed, "I'm sorry for calling you crazy, even if you really sound like you are- no offense. But I still want to go with you."

"Why?"

"Well, clearly you're runaways too," she looked pointedly at our dirty clothes and scruffy appearance. "And you've obviously had more experience than I have. I can't go home now, but I don't have anywhere else to go. Let me go with you. Even crazy people are better company than _no one_."

"Derek…you say she's a werewolf, right?" Simon spoke up from his position by the sinks.

"_Part_ werewolf." he corrected.

"Right, whatever. She needs our help. She obviously doesn't know anything about the supernatural world. How long do you think she'll last out here on her own?"

"Not our problem." It was times like these when I most questioned Derek's ability to show compassion. He was a great guy, but knew we had to look after ourselves primarily. While this theory had kept us alive for so long, it _did_ have to bend sometimes.

"Derek, Simon has a point." I sighed, reluctant to disagree with him now that it seemed our main source of argument (the surgery) had been eliminated.

He studied the girl who met his gaze defiantly, though their was a spark of hope in the back of her eyes. "I-" he looked around at each of our faces. Simon subtly nodded and I looked at him pleadingly. Tori just shrugged when he caught her eye, but she didn't protest. "Guess you can come after all." he sighed. "But if you betray us-"

"Of course she won't," Simon assured him with a little too much enthusiasm to vouch for a strange girl he had just met. I saw the warm expression in his eyes and wondered for the second time in the past twenty four hours if Simon was falling in love again.

"Chloe," he turned to me, concern on his face. "Are you ok to move now? Just to the bus stop?"

Gingerly I used the toilet paper dispenser to push myself to my feet. I swayed a little and Derek's arms leaped out to catch me, but it wasn't necessary. After a moment I regained my balance, nodding. "Let's go."

"Are you sure you want to come with us?" Derek turned almost hopefully towards Aliena as if wishing she'd decline.

"Yes." She said firmly.

"Then we should go now." He looped an arm under my shoulders and helped me limp out of the bathroom. The others followed in a solemn single file. Aliena eased the door shut behind us. Whatever the consequences, she was a member of the team now.

**Yay! Chloe's alive (For now…MWAHAHAHAHAHAH!) The people have spoken! You have decided to bring in Aliena for Simon…but it's not too late to take the poll! He doesn't have to fall in love with her…Simon's fate can still change!**

**Here is a slightly more legible version of Aliena's story (yes, I know it is still bad grammar/a major run on sentence but it's **_**supposed **_**to be like that. More dramatic, you know?).**

"It was yesterday afternoon I was in my house and I wanted to ask my parents if I could go to my friend Julie's house for a sleepover but then they said they had to talk to me and the looks on their faces was really scary and they made me sit in the living room which we _never _use and then they told me I am adopted and I kind of flipped out even though it shouldn't have been that surprising since they are both blonde and I'm obviously not but I just ran away from them which probably wasn't the best idea but I'm glad I did because I went to my friends house but didn't tell her I was running away but then when she drove me back home because I felt bad I was about to go into the house when I heard a strange voice talking and I was curious so I peeked in through the open window to listen and my mom and dad said to him 'so we never have to see her again?' and he said 'no' and then he handed the man a check- a _check! _and my mom and dad said 'she's yours but she ran away, she'll be back soon, I'm sure,' and then he turned around and I could swear he was looking right at me and he said 'she's right over there' and I couldn't believe it because I was so careful to be quiet so I turned and ran back to my friends car and told her I forgot my mom wanted me to meet her at the park and would she mind driving me? And she said no and then she took me to the park and I thanked her but then I knew I had to hide because I was really scared of the guy my parents were talking to so I wandered around hoping he wouldn't find me there but it started to get dark and then suddenly he is right next to me and I feel a gun at my back and he tells me to just go with him but I panicked and kicked him and ran away and he was surprised so I got a few minutes head start and he cursed and tried to chase me but thankfully didn't try to shoot me, I don't know why, but then I saw this bathroom and knew I had to get away from him and you know the rest but now he's out there and please don't let him in I don't know who he is but I think he's a lunatic and my parents sold me to him but I don't know why…"


	18. Chapter 18

Ok, Chlerek fluff was requested, so Chlerek fluff shall be delivered (at least no one can accuse me of not listening to my reviewers…lol.)** Sorry it's kind of a short and plot-less chapter, it's really just an interlude until I figure out where I want the story to head next… **

I woke up nestled against Derek's side, my head rising and falling with his chest, his heartbeat throbbing against my ear. Gingerly I sat up, careful not to wake him. He needed sleep more than the rest of us after all his nights of guard duty that he insisted on performing. And who knows _when_ he'd agree to sleep again…

I leaned my head back against the worn vinyl seat back of the bus we were on. It had been a long night. First the surgery, then the dramatic appearance of Aliena; it had been an immense relief to curl up against Derek and let my eyelids drift shut.

In the seat in front of us Aliena was resting her head against the window, brown hair falling like a curtain between us. It was impossible to tell if she was awake or asleep.

I risked a glance behind me and saw Simon and Tori both snoring softly; Tori's head resting on his shoulder and his head on top of hers. They looked really cute together (though I doubted they _fell_ asleep like that) and I couldn't help but think back to what Tori had said about not liking Simon. Their personalities were polar opposites (bubbly meets bitchy) but you know what they say about opposites attracting…

Around me other people on the bus were gradually stirring, stretching and blinking out at the peach-colored dawn. Derek was one of them. He yawned, reaching his arms up to the ceiling and flexing his fingers. "Good morning," he mumbled upon noticing I was awake, clearly still bleary with sleep.

"Hi," I whispered back.

"How're you feeling?" Running a hand through his sleep-tousled hair, he looked pointedly at my stomach. It had been hurting for so long by now that I was able to avoid thinking of the pain.

"Fine. What about you?"

"Hungry." he rummaged in his backpack for a minute before coming up with a box of raisons. He sighed, "What I wouldn't give for some pancakes right now…" I groaned in agreement, closing my eyes and imagining the buttery smell and the ultra sweet syrup oozing down my throat. "Here," I looked to see Derek proffering the red box. "Want some?" I graciously accepted a small fistful. For several contented minutes we munched in silence, neither of us saying a word. After a little while Derek turned to check on the rest of his flock.

A bemused expression flitted across his face as he saw the position Simon and Tori were in. Simon's mouth had opened slightly and a thin trickle of drool dribbled down his chin. Tori was going to kill him. "Huh," Derek smiled at me. "Didn't see that one coming."

"Me neither," I agreed, giggling under my breath. "Think it'll last?"

"Did they even go to sleep like that on purpose?"

"It's doubtful. But they _do_ seem happy…"

"Uh huh. Simon especially." This was a joke, as Simon was looking very unattractive at the moment. It was hard to look happy while you were drooling with such reckless abandon.

We waited for our giggles to die down. It was nice, being alone with Derek like this on the mostly asleep bus. Private, cozy. All that was missing for the fantasy in my head to be complete was a cottage by the sea and a roaring fire. Yes, it is cheesy. But it would be perfect.

Several moments later Derek turned his inquisitive green eyes on me, dragging me out of my daydream. "Are _you_ happy?"

"What?" Was my intelligent reply. His blurted question had caught me off guard.

"Are you happy?" he repeated, studying me intensely. I turned away from him to stare out the window, choosing my words carefully.

"I _wish_ we weren't living off the streets and running for our lives…but other than that, yeah. I _am_ happy."

"Other than _that_ small detail," he echoed, voice dripping sarcasm before suddenly turning serious again. "But you are happy…with me?"

I wrenched my gaze back to him, startled. "Of course-"

"I mean, you wouldn't rather be Tori right now?" He glanced behind him. "You know, with Simon?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" I snapped, unnerved by this _jealous_ Derek. Since when did he _get_ jealous?

"I just mean-"

"Look," I softened my voice though still kept it firm. "Derek, I chose _you_. Remember?"

"What _were _you thinking?" I was pleased to see some of the intensity leave his eyes and a teasing glint replace it.

"I was thinking that I loved you." I responded, just as saucily. Then I sealed the deal with a kiss.

"Ew. Just Ew." Tori shook her head with disgust. I whirled to see the two disentangling themselves as if nothing was out of the ordinary, yawning and blinking.

"Great way to wake up," Simon agreed with just as mocking a tone of voice. Still, his eyes were glowing with warmth and when he thought I wasn't looking I saw him shoot a thumbs up at Derek.

"Where are we?" someone muttered from ahead of us. Aliena was awake, turned around to face us.

"Just out of Rochester." Derek responded automatically.

"Ok." she turned back to face the front, which was fine with the rest of us. We had yet to fully trust her.

Tori and Simon turned to their packs to hunt down some breakfast so I took the opportunity to intertwine my fingers with Derek's and lean forward to whisper in his ear, "Are _you_ happy with _me_?"

He answered me with a kiss of his own.

Behind us Tori gave a little screech. "Why is my _hair_ _wet!_"

Derek and I laughed until we couldn't breathe anymore.

**Yes, it was pointless. Sorry. I swear I'll get back to the action in my next chapter…so don't give up reading!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Ok, some of the credit for this chapter has to go to DerpOnTheRainbows, my new FanFic BFF- thank you! Major info revealed:**

We stopped in a town to try a pay phone so Derek could attempt to call May (I was still having trouble thinking of her as his mom). He dialed the number without hesitation, clearly having implanted it in his mind long ago.

The four of us waited with baited breath, unable to hide the anticipation bare on our faces. After several tense moments he hung up the phone again without saying a word, face stoic.

"Well?" Simon pressed when he didn't offer an explanation.

"Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice messaging system," he quoted in a sing-song voice. "9087823564 is not available. Please leave a message after the tone."

"And you didn't leave a message _because_…?" Tori prompted.

He shot her a sharp glance. "And say what? 'Hi mom. It's your werewolf son who you probably don't even remember. I'm in mortal peril along with my gang of supernatural friends. Wanna help?' Yeah. I'd imagine that would go _so_ well." He shook his head in self-mockery.

"Well, we'll try again tomorrow." Simon socked him in the arm. "For now, can we _please_ head over to that Burger King? If I don't get some hot food in me now I might just die. Right here. On this gum splattered pavement. Left to rot…"

Tori rolled her eyes. "And you say _I'm_ a drama queen?"

"You know you shouldn't eat too much of those kinds of foods…" Derek warned his brother.

"Too much? One burger won't kill me. Let's go."

We all followed him to the fast food place. As we walked across the street I laid a hand on Derek's arm. "Hey, just because she didn't pick up now doesn't mean she isn't still there."

"I know," he gave me a small sideways smile.

"We'll try again later, ok?"

"Sure."

The Burger King was small and dingy, the tiles cracked and ketchup stains coating ever table. There were only a handful of other people there. The only worker was a toothless, prune-like old lady who took our order without saying a word. And yet, the warm greasy burger was one of the best meals I'd ever had.

We were all inhaling our food, silent but for the sounds of chewing when Aliena sitting across from me suddenly stiffened.

"What's-"

"My Aunt Melissa." She ducked her head into her tray, letting her hair fall down and cover her face.

I peeked over my shoulder to see a tall, skinny brunette looking at us. When she met my gaze she swiftly turned away, taking a sip of coffee as she did so.

"Her?"

Aliena nodded.

"Are you sure?" Derek glanced back.

Another nod.

"Let's get out of here."

Deftly we stood up, regretfully depositing the last of our fries in the trash can. The four of us formed a moving blockade around Aliena, shielding her from view. As soon as we were out of the restaurant we took off in a sprint, dashing down the street and away from view.

At last we reached the outskirts of town, coming to a wheezing stop in an abandoned warehouse.

"My fries…" Simon moaned once he had regained his breath.

"Did she see you?" Derek demanded of Aliena.

She bit her lip. "I can't be sure…but I think she might have."

"And she would tell your parents…"

"Who would tell Mr. "Werewolf"." she concluded.

"Crap." Derek summed up.

"_Chloe_!" I jumped about a foot in the air as Liz suddenly appeared in front of me. "Listen! This is a matter of life and death-"

"Liz? What? How-" confusion muddled my words.

"Liz's here?" Tori perked up, raising her head like an eager puppy.

"Liz," Simon acknowledged with a dip of his head, turning to stare at the direction I was looking in. "Your timing is immaculate, as always."

"Did you find what you were-" I started but she cut me off with an impatient wave of her hand.

"No time. There's a girl- they're going to kill her!"

"What girl?" I asked, but there was a sinking feeling in my chest. I could guess.

Liz's eyes were wide with unconcealed fear. "She was an experiment just like you but she wasn't a success so they are trying to _kill_ her and if you hurry you might be able to find her, I heard where her address was…"

I let my gaze drift pass Liz to Aliena who had the same mildly curious and confused expression on her face as the other three. There was just one difference: she was looking directly at Liz.

Simon, Tori, and Derek were all looking towards the center of the room where _I_ was looking. Only Aliena was staring at her with eerie precision.

"What did they do to her?" I wrenched my gaze back to Liz. "You said they did experiments-" Out of the corner of my eye I saw Derek glance swiftly at Aliena, clearly reading between the lines.

Liz, following my gaze, glanced behind her. As she lay eyes on Aliena for the first time, she gasped. "That's her! I recognize her from the picture- but how did you _find_ her?"

I opened my mouth to repeat my question but Aliena spoke, a haunted gleam in her eye. "What picture?"

"Well, that answers _that_ question," I said to no one in particular. It seemed our new friend could talk to ghosts.

"The one on your…your file." Liz still looked torn between being spooked and being thrilled.

"Chloe," Derek was staring at Aliena, "what's going on? When did anyone say anything about a picture…?"

"Liz did." I told him grimly before turning to Aliena. "So. You're a necromancer, too?"

"I-" she chewed on her lip, realizing she had made a mistake. "I don't know about a _necromancer_…but I _do_ see things, sometimes. People that no one else can see…"

"Ghosts." Simon corrected gently.

"Oh great. _Another_ one." Tori rolled her eyes.

I felt a thrill of exhilaration. There was another necromancer here- someone I could maybe share tips and training with who hopefully _wouldn't_ betray me. "So have you ever raised someone?"

"Raised?" horror replaced the confusion as she realized what I had asked. "Oh. _Oh_. No- definitely not." then something else seemed to occur to her because she looked at me with a new fear. "Have…have you?" After a moment's hesitation, I nodded. She paled.

"She's not a necromancer," Liz, over her original shock, was studying the girl intently.

"But she can see ghosts-" I protested.

"But she can't raise them or call them up at will, can she?" Liz turned to Aliena for confirmation and she nodded. "And she doesn't have a glow like other necromancers, at least not a noticeable one."

"So…she's _not_ a necromancer?" my head spun.

"Not exactly…"

"Chloe?" Derek pressed. It was hard to remember that they would only be hearing my side of the conversation.

"Liz says she's not a necromancer."

"But I thought she could see Liz…" confusion and frustration (always coinciding emotions for Derek) were plain on his face.

"She's not fully necromancer." I relayed Liz's message to the others.

"What do you mean?" Tori demanded, eyes staring shamelessly at Aliena as if admiring something in the zoo. It was times like these that I really wished she had more tact.

"She has other supernatural blood in her-" I sucked in a startled breath.

"Chloe?" Derek repeated when I didn't immediately explain. I told them what Liz had said, the explanation met with an uproar as everyone started talking at once.

Aliena's voice rose above the rest. "Yes, ok? Yes! She's right…I can do weird stuff…"

"Like what?" Derek accused. If I hadn't known him so well I might have missed the fear hidden in the back of his eyes. There was nothing Derek hated more than the unknown.

"Like seeing the," she gulped, "ghosts. And sometimes weird things just happen around me…"

"Like _what_?" he repeated, shifting into a subtle defensive position.

"I read her file. She has necromancer, werewolf, witch, and even some Agito demon…" Liz told me. Again I repeated her words for the others.

Derek gave a low curse. "That would explain the weird smell."

"Is this true?" Simon turned to her with curiosity. "Are you all those things?"

"No! Yes. Maybe." she sighed. "All I know is things happen around me and I can't explain them."

"Sounds like Harry Potter," Tori observed snidely. "Ready for Hogwarts?"

Aliena glared at her. "You're a witch, aren't you? Why don't you shove your wand up your-"

"Ok!" I interrupted, shooting both of them reproving looks. "Are you sure, Liz?"

"Yeah. She's the girl they were talking about."

"How do we know your for real?" Derek dared her. "If you're so powerful, so supernatural, prove it."

"She can't." Liz said matter-of-factly. "That's why she was considered a failure. All those powers didn't make her more powerful…they made her _less_ powerful."

"What's Liz saying?" Simon asked. I told them.

"Like spreading your butter too thin," Derek nodded slowly as if that made sense.

"Yeah." she agreed. "She has so many powers, she can't really do anything with any of them."

"Can you cast?" I turned to Aliena.

"Cast? Oh, you mean like a spell. Don't be ridiculous."

"Try," I urged.

"I told you, the weird things just _happen_. It's not like I _do_ anything-"

"Try." I repeated.

"See if you can do this," Tori, grinning widely, shot a fireball through the wall just above Aliena, singing the top of her head. I'm sure it was a combination of revenge and show-offiness.

Aliena blinked, eyes wide and doe like as one hand deftly felt her crispy hair. With a small shake to regain her composure, she set her mouth in a firm line and held out her hands as she had seen Tori do, aiming at a blank wall.

Her eyes screwed up in concentration and a little furrow formed on her brow. We all waited, watching her intensely. After a moment an orange glow seemed to encase her two hands. She peeked one eye open and gasped as she saw them- wrenching the other eye open to gawk. The light instantly died.

"I was…I was…" she seemed at a loss for words.

"Try again." Simon encouraged.

"I- yeah, ok." she nodded and closed her eyes once again, resuming the stance. She flexed her knees a bit like an golfer preparing to swing. Her hands started glowing again. Without warning, an orange ball of fire identical to Tori's shot out…before fizzling out after only two feet.

I hadn't realized I had been holding my breath but I now let it out in big _whoosh_.

"Is that it?" Tori quirked an amused eyebrow.

"I don't know what I'm doing!" Aliena defended, bristling.

"And considering that, you did a good job," Simon soothed.

"Well, at least this proves Liz's right. At least about being part witch." Derek said.

Liz, who had been silent for the past few minutes, now nodded. "Yeah, 'course I was right. But what I still want to know is _how_ you guys already found her?"

The whole story poured out, Aliena telling her portion and me telling the rest. When we were finished Liz rocked back on her heels with a soft release of breath. "Huh. Well, I guess it's good you guys found each other."

"Yeah…" Derek looked doubtful. But what could he really do? Now we had more incentive than ever to help the strange girl who had joined our escapade.

**Ok, what do you think of Aliena? Can they trust her? What's up with her powers? And what about Derek's mom? Any questions, comments, predictions? **

**On another note, I have put a new quiz on my profile all about this book. Please, please, please, please take that one! I want to know what you think of my story!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Wow- sorry it's been a week. I've been really busy with school and stuffs, so I'm only just now getting a chance to write. Oh how I love the weekend! Hope you like this next chapter!** **(Sorry if it's confusing at first…just keep reading). **

We had reached the conclusion that while we were already in a relatively safe spot, we would stay there for the night. The guys wanted to make a food run and retry to contact May, but first they wanted to help me change the bandages. I could not let this happen.

"That's ok. You guys go ahead. Tori will help me."

"Tori will _what_?" Tori raised her eyebrows at me. I shot her a pleading look behind their backs. "Oh, right." she got the message. "Sure, I'll help you."

"Thanks. Now you guys can go." Derek kept his eyes trained on my face, studying my expression.

"Ok. Aliena, did you want to come too?" Simon offered.

She stood up and stretched with a yawn. "Sure. Some fresh air wouldn't hurt." A moment later and the three of them were gone, leaving me alone with Tori.

She waited until they were out of earshot before turning to me with her arms crossed. "Ok. What's up? You don't _really_ want me to help you change the icky bloody bandages, do you? 'Cause advanced warning: I won't."

"No, you don't have to," I sighed, already picking up the hem of my shirt.

"Why did you want to get rid of the guys?"

"This is why," I peeled back the layers of bandage to reveal what had literally been a thorn in my side for the past few hours.

Tori let out a long, low whistle, eyes trained on my stomach. The already disgusting injury had become…putrid. Absolutely gross. It had turned an abnormal yellowish color and was obviously infected.

"Wow. It didn't always look like that, right?"

I shook my head. "Definitely not. But don't tell the guys, ok?"

"Chloe…that looks serious."

"I know, but I'll be fine. Swear." I gave her a week smile.

"You are so stupid sometimes." She rolled her eyes. I gazed at her imploringly. Finally, she sighed. "All right, I won't say anything to them. Scout's honor. But if you die- I didn't know about this, ok? It's not my fault if your stupid pride kills you."

"Of course." I agreed quickly, replacing my own bandages. With another disgusted shake of her head she turned away.

The other three returned, faces downcast. "No luck?" I piped up from where I was lounging against a cardboard box.

Simon shook his head. "Nope. She didn't pick up."

"Again, it's probably just bad timing." I stood up, ignoring the pain at the small motion, and went to Derek's side, intertwining my fingers with his. His hands were warm and covered with a light sweat, the muscles twitching against my palm. I glanced up at him, asking the question with my eyes, and he nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Or she's not there," Tori grumbled from her corner where she was picking at her cuticles with a slight frown on her face.

"Bad timing," I repeated firmly.

"Anyway, we got bagels!" Simon brought out a greasy paper bag from behind his back, waving it in the air triumphantly. It did little to lighten the mood.

We ate in silence, me gnawing on my poppy bagel with cream cheese as I struggled to come up with a solution to my problem. I now had _two_ secrets to keep from the others: Kit and my injury. I knew I had to tell them but it never seemed like the right time.

No one was even making eye contact until Aliena gave a little squeal. I glanced up sharply to see her staring at her twitching arm in horror. Simon and Tori looked alarmed but Derek and I exchanged a knowing look.

"Does this happen often?" Tori choked.

"No!" her blue eyes were wide with fright. "I don't know what's going on!"

"You're ready to change," Derek sighed.

"Change?" she squeaked, looking up at him swiftly.

"Well, I'm _assuming_ that's it. You _are_ part werewolf."

"So what?" she had turned back to study her arm, bordering on hysterics. "I'm going to turn into a _wolf_ now?"

"Not necessarily-" Derek started. I elbowed him.

"Theoretically yes."

"Theoretically?"

"Well, it took me a few times before I could change fully…"

"Oh god," her chest was heaving with great gasping breaths. "Oh god, oh god, oh god…"

"Chill. It's not like you're about to give birth or anything like that. No need to hyperventilate." Tori snapped, clearly growing bored with the conversation.

"No. I'm just going to turn into a _wolf_," Aliena shuddered, still breathing heavily.

I stood up and grabbed Derek by the arm. He allowed me to tug him over to the corner.

"Yes?"

"Why don't you help her?" I suggested. "Give her tips or…or _something_."

"What do you _want_ me to say?" he hissed.

"_Anything_. Just so she at least knows what she's going through is natural-"

"But it's _not_ natural. If _I_ was worried that the scientists had made it impossible for me to fully change, there is next to no chance of _her_ being able to. I told you, she's only _part_ werewolf."

"So she may never change?" I asked with despair, thinking of the cycle of endless agony she had ahead of her. I wouldn't wish that fate upon Margaret, much less an innocent, naïve girl.

He shrugged. "I don't know. Doubt it."

"Crap." I sighed. "All right, well can you tell her _something_ so she feels better?"

"You do realize _I'm_ about to change too, right? Won't be able to talk much then…"

"Now. Just _talk_ to her." I urged.

He still sounded doubtful but he agreed. "Fine. I'll try."

We rejoined the group who was trying to calm the panicking Aliena down. "What's going to happen now?" she was fretting.

"Let's go find somewhere private." Derek spoke with calm reassurance.

"I doubt we'll find anywhere more private than here." I observed.

"True," he conceded. "All right, let's just stay here."

"Um…" Simon was fidgeting, not meeting anyone else's gaze. "It ok if I, you know, try calling May again?"

"You don't have to stay and watch." Derek said, more harshly than he probably intended.

Simon paled, looking up at him. "No, I mean that's not-"

"It's fine," he softened his tone. "I don't blame you for not wanting to stay."

Simon waited one more minute, studying Derek's gaze to confirm that he wasn't mad, before nodding. "Ok."

Tori sighed. "Since I'm not even going to _try_ and be nice about this, know I'd rather gouge my eyes out than watch Mr. Werewolf in action." I shot her an exasperated look, which she returned with a shrug. "Sorry. I have no interest in seeing your boyfriend naked."

Heat flooded my cheeks as I looked away, mumbling "he's not _totally_ naked" under my breath so softly I doubt anyone else heard me.

"So we should be leaving now…" Simon hinted but Derek shook his head.

"You don't have to go _yet_." he told his brother. "We've both still got a while until it's time to actually change."

We all settled into an uncomfortable heavy silence for a few minutes until I just _had_ to break it with useless ranting. "So, I wonder why Aliena starts to change as soon as Derek does? Kinda coincidental, right?" I mused.

"Hmm…" Tori looked thoughtful. "I don't know. I mean, the hormones and stuff…"

"What?" Aliena, distracted from staring at her still writhing arm, glanced at her curiously.

"Well, you know how when two girls live in the same house together for a while they start to get their periods at the same time?"

Simon paled. "_No_ and I really did not _need_ to know that."

Tori shrugged, unfazed. "Suck it up. Knowing your feminine enemies is good for you."

"There _is_ such a thing as _too _much information," he reminded her, shuddering.

"Ok," Derek interrupted Tori's retort. "Since this conversation is starting to weird me out a bit, I think it's time for you two to leave. I'm almost ready to change, and it looks like Aliena is, too."

"Chloe, you coming too?" Simon stood up and headed towards the door.

"Of course she's not." Tori tugged him out of the warehouse.

"Be careful!" Derek called after them, as if as an after thought.

"Will do." Simon called back before they were gone, leaving me alone with two werewolves.

"What now?" Aliena asked as soon as they had gone.

"You get ready to change." Derek shrugged out of his shirt and jeans so he was kneeling in just his shorts. Aliena pointedly looked away.

"I don't have to undress too, do I?"

"Doubt it." Derek said offhandedly. "You're a bit…scrawnier than I am."

"Scrawny. Great." she muttered, looking down at herself self-consciously for a moment before turning her gaze to Derek where he crouched in his sprint position. After a moment she imitated him, taking deep cleansing breaths. Even from my position next to Derek on the other side of the room I could see the glow of the propped up flashlight glinting off the sheen of sweat on her brow.

I placed my hand on top of Derek's in my usual position of comfort. "You ready?"

He nodded tightly, eyes closed in concentration. I glanced over at Aliena who was also tensed. It occurred to me that she might need my comfort more than Derek, as she had never gone through this before, but I couldn't just abandon him. I wished Simon or Tori had been able to stay, though I couldn't begrudge their choice of leaving.

Without warning Derek's back arched and he gave a low growl of pain. Though I had seen this all before, it still sent a wave of pain vibrating in my chest to see him like this. I whispered words of endearment in his ear as he shuddered in agony, wishing there was more I could do. A sharp cry from the far side of the room told me Aliena had started to change. I felt a pang of sympathy for the girl but couldn't bring myself to leave Derek's side.

An eternity later my Derek had disappeared and a black wolf lay panting in his place. "Good job," I praised. He made a little snuff at me, rolling his eyes.

I glanced over at Aliena who was bent double, still twitching. I turned back to Derek who gave a little nod. He was going to be ok for now. I could go help her.

I crossed the room and knelt beside her, putting my hand on top of her hooked fingers just as I did for Derek. "You're doing great," I encouraged. She moaned an incomprehensible response.

Finally she collapsed (still human) on the floor, chest rising and falling with the force of her panting. "Is it over?"

"I think so. You did great."

She detached a strand of hair glued to her sweaty cheek. "I'm just glad it's over. That's not going to happen again, is it?"

I hesitated, not wanting to lie to her. "Maybe." After all, we really couldn't be positive. There _was_ a chance it wouldn't happen again…it just wasn't likely.

"Great," she groaned before lifting her head to look at Derek. He trotted over to us, sniffing her face. She flinched. "He won't eat me, right?"

"Don't be ridiculous," I snapped, angry at the accusation on Derek's behalf. "It's still him, just…furrier."

"So…can he hear me?" Derek answered her question with a dip of his head. "Wow. Um…wanna play fetch?"

I laughed at the disgruntled expression on Derek's face. "You want the ball? You want the ball?" I said in a baby voice, clapping my hands like I was talking to a puppy. These moments of teasing were priceless.

Derek growled and tensed to leap. "Uh-oh," I had time to mutter before he bowled me over, knocking me to the ground so I was tangled in a knot of my own limbs and fur.

"Hey!" I spluttered, giggling all the while.

He gave a mock growl, jumping away from me and tensing to leap again. "You wouldn't-" I saw him tense up again, prepared to leap on top of me. Clearly, he would. A moment later there was a hundred and fifty pound dog on top of me, bathing my face with the force of his slobbery licks. "Gross!" I giggled, shoving him off me. "You're a _way_ better kisser when you're human."

He snapped his jaws at me then darted away. His movements were restricted in this enclosed area, but that didn't stop him from trying to run. He only made it a few strides before crashing into a crate. The stunned expression on his face made me laugh again.

He snarled at me from the other side of the room, and I would have been scared if not for the familiar gleam in his green eyes. He broke into a short sprint before again landing on my chest, heavier than before. One of his paws landed directly on my injury, making me cry out with pain.

When my vision again unblurred I saw Derek standing over me, all traces of play gone from his eyes and replaced with fear. He was nosing my shoulder desperately, willing me to respond.

"It's all right. I'm fine," I lied. It still hurt like hell. I tangled a fist in the thick hair on his back and used it to pull myself up to a sitting position. "Really Derek, I'm fine." I repeated when he didn't look any less anxious.

He whined deep in his throat, pressing his nose against my arm in an apology. "It was an accident. I'm ok now." He curled up against my side, breath whuffing in short pants. I stroked the top of his head tenderly, feeling utterly in love with the boy-wolf- beside me.

"Are you ok?" I had forgotten Aliena was there. I saw she had drawn herself up into the corner and was sitting with her knees tucked against her chest.

"Yeah, thanks."

"Good. That you're not hurt, I mean." She smiled warmly at me, a smile which I returned. Even though I didn't fully trust Aliena yet, I recognized that we could become close friends in the future.

I lay down, using Derek's flank as a pillow. He rumbled beneath me with contentment.

Despite all the issues in my life at the moment, I was smiling as I fell asleep.

**What do you think? Sorry- I couldn't resist adding the wolf part! *Sigh* I repeat: I really want my own Derek. **

**On another note- I am so glad a whole 3 people have taken my poll! The current status is: my story's amazing, too short, everybody likes pancakes, and no one likes Aliena. And no one says I should be thrown in a vat of boiling oatmeal! YAY! Just curious, but why doesn't anyone like Aliena? I mean, I didn't make her to be a despised character. What is it you guys don't like about her? Any suggestions on how I can make her more likeable? (or should I just give up on making her a good character and make her totally evil- Mwahaha!) If you haven't taken my poll, please do! I love hearing what you think about my story- and your opinion on pancakes :)**


	21. Chapter 21

**Poor Chloe :(**

When I woke up Derek was human again, dressed and organizing his backpack. Simon and Tori had also returned sometime during the night and were both asleep still.

"Hey," I yawned, sitting up and stretching.

His green eyes flashed to me. "How are you doing?"

"Good. What's for breakfast?"

"A rotten apple." he tossed one to me. "But are you really ok? I'm so sorry about last night. I was so stupid, forgetting about your injury-"

"Don't. I'm fine now." I grimaced as I bit into the too sweet apple. "It was an accident."

"I still should have remembered to be more careful."

"Look Derek," I sighed, "not even _you_ can be perfect all the time."

"Hardly." he snorted before his gaze turned serious again. "But you're really ok? And not just after I accidentally hurt you last night- your injury's ok?"

I bit my lip. Now was the time to tell him. So why couldn't I make myself choke out the words? I nodded, hating myself for it.

"Really?" Doubt quirked his eyebrow up. "Because you smell…off."

"Oh sorry," I snapped, "showers are kind of hard to come by when you're _homeless_."

His steady gaze didn't waver. "You know that's not what I meant," he said evenly.

"I know," I sighed, wishing I wasn't so cranky. "I'm sorry."

"But you _are_ ok?"

"Yeah." He seemed to accept that, letting the matter drop.

Pretty soon the other three were awake and it was time to keep moving.

We walked along side roads, no one saying much. As the sun migrated across the sky, I began to feel steadily worse. My whole body felt shaky and feverish. I subtly reached up to feel my forehead, disguising the movement as brushing the hair out of my eyes, cursing as it burned my hand. Of the many things I had learned being raised by a nurse, I had forgotten fever and infection go hand in hand.

Derek fell back a little to walk beside me, hands nonchalantly tucked into his jean pockets. "You doing ok?" he tried again after a few moments of silence.

"Yes." I responded curtly, not wanting to waste valuable energy on pointless conversations.

"You'd tell me if you _didn't_ feel good, right?"

I couldn't bring myself to verbally lie so I nodded again. This seemed to satisfy him, for he didn't press the subject anymore. Still, he kept walking next to me for the rest of the afternoon, as if ready to catch me if I fell. Though under better circumstances I would have found this romantically chivalrous, I now was paranoid he'd be able to figure out what I was hiding.

By the time the sun was just starting to shrink, I felt on the verge of collapse. Derek must have noticed for as we passed another abandoned warehouse he suggested we stop for the night. When Tori opened her mouth to protest, probably arguing it was only about 5:30, he said "We're all pretty tired." Though he thoughtfully left out names, I felt everybody else glance at me out of the corners of their eyes. I must not have been doing a good enough job hiding my fatigue: a fact I felt guilty about.

Derek was able to easily break the lock on the door and then we were in, able to creep through the silent stacks of boxes that to my sleep deprived mind seemed to be leering at us.

"Chloe, you hungry?" Derek called from where he and the others sat in a circle picking through our meager food supply. I realized only then that for the past two minutes I had been frozen, leaning heavily against the wall.

I detached myself from the brick with a shake of my head to Derek. Just the thought of food sent my stomach roiling. I felt light-headed and dizzy, as if about to faint. I sat down before that could happen.

"I'm kind of tired…" I heard myself speaking, as if from a distance. "I think I'm just going to go right to sleep."

Concern was bare on Derek's face but he nodded. "You look like you need it."

_Tell them!_ my subconscious shouted in the back of my mind. If I was feeling _this_ bad, I had let it drag on for too long without telling them.

_Tomorrow_. I promised myself, and then I surrendered to my closing eye lashes.

SPOV/ 3rd Person

"Hey, I'm going to run out to the Duncan Donuts we passed on the way in. Can you wake everyone up?" Derek addressed Simon, the only other one awake.

"Sure thing bro," he agreed readily, already looking forward to the donuts Derek was going to bring back. He hoped there would be a Boston Crème in there somewhere.

"Be back soon," Derek promised before creeping out of the warehouse.

Simon turned to his current designated task, deciding to wake up Tori first as she always took the longest to get ready. He crouched next to where she sprawled on the ground, one arm draped dramatically over her face.

He poked her in the shoulder. "Tori, time to wake up." She lifted her arm up high enough to peek open one eye and glare at him.

"Screw you, sorcerer." He left her, knowing she would eventually wake herself up. This is how Tori's wake up calls went every morning.

He decided Aliena would be next, since Chloe had looked like she could have really used a full nights sleep last night. "Hey- you awake?" he tapped Aliena on the arm.

She yawned and rubbed at her eyes before sitting up and giving him a tiny smile. "Now I am."

He nodded acknowledgement and moved towards Chloe. Her mouth was puckered in an 'o' and her breath came softly whooshing out of it. There was a light sheen of sweat on her brow and her face was flushed. Concern dominated his brain. "Chloe?" he shook her shoulder gently. "We have to get going now." She didn't stir. "Chloe?" he tried tapping her on the head, splashing water on her face, even pinching her, all the while calling her name with growing panic. She didn't wake up.

"Is she ok?" Aliena came up behind him, voice thick with worry.

"She isn't waking up! What's wrong with her?"

"Oh god. I _told_ her," Tori bit her lip.

"Told her _what_?" Simon rounded on her for an explanation.

She opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by Derek's appearance with the familiar pink and orange bag. "We have glazed, chocolate, cinnamon…" his listing of the donuts died out as he saw the three of them crouched around Chloe's still slumbering form, everyone wearing identical masks of panic.

"What happened?" he demanded, closing the distance in a few quick strides to kneel next to her.

"She won't wake up!" Simon wailed.

Derek lifted a huge hand to feel her forehead, cursing as it scalded him. "Fever." he spat. "Does anyone have any water and a t-shirt or something?"

Aliena silently peeled away to follow his command. "How'd she get a fever?" Simon fretted. "Especially one _this_ bad."

"I don't know!" Derek had a panicked gleam in his eyes as he accepted the water bottle and t-shirt Aliena was holding out to him. He dunked the water bottle over the shirt and held the effective wet rag to bathe her forehead. "wake up, wake up," he muttered under his breath.

"I know." Tori spoke up quietly.

Derek turned to stare at her. "Explain." he ordered.

"Look at her injury." Tori turned away.

Fingers trembling, he did as she asked. When he saw it was infected he cursed. "You knew about this and didn't _tell_ us?" he demanded of Tori.

"I didn't think it was _that_ bad!" She yelled back. Simon grabbed her arm and tugged her away before a real shouting match could ensue, leaving Derek to fret over Chloe.

"We have to get some kind of medicine for this…" Derek's hands fluttered uselessly over the injury.

"On it." Simon bee-lined for the door. Aliena followed him.

Silently they walked the mile back to the nearest town, heading through the suburbs until they came to main street. There it only took them five minutes to locate the pharmacy.

"Ok, what are we looking for?" Aliena peeked down an aisle of shampoo.

"Some kind of antibiotic," Simon shrugged.

A scrawny teen with massive glasses and a bad case of acne as red as his nametag wandered over to them. "Need any help finding anything?"

"We're looking for an antibiotic. Something to fight infection."

"This way," the kid, sounding bored, shuffled to one of the last aisles. He gestured at several shelves of official looking containers. "Any in particular?"

"What's the strongest?" Simon wasn't prepared to take any chances of it not working.

"Here," The kid passed them a spray bottle of translucent liquid. "This is for the worst kind of infections."

"We'll take it."

Only five minutes later they were speed-walking back the way they came, the blue plastic bag with the antibiotic in it swinging at Simon's waist. They journeyed in silence for a few minutes before Aliena spoke up. "Do you think she's going to be ok?"

Simon chewed on the inside of his cheek. "Yeah," he said, more confidently than he felt.

"Derek will find some way to save her," Aliena told him.

"He'll sure as hell try."

She was silent for a few more minutes before blurting, "Will you teach me some spells?"

Simon, taken aback, asked "Why?"

She shrugged. "I just want some kind of defense. I mean, I haven't forgotten the so called werewolf after me, and from what I understand you guys aren't exactly free of pursuance either. In case one of the bad guys shows up, I don't want to be the easy prey."

"Yeah. That's probably a good idea…" he said thoughtfully, eyes fixed on the paved road ahead of them. "Of course, Tori's a better spell-caster than I am…"

She chose her next words carefully. "Tori wouldn't be my first choice for a teacher…"

"And _I _would be?"

"Probably better than Tori, at least."

"True." he agreed, knowing Tori had the patience of an angry bull. "I'll show you some stuff when we get back." With that agreed, they spent the remaining walk in silence.

When they arrived back at the warehouse, Derek was still hunched over Chloe. Tori was sulking in the corner, methodically ripping up a shirt and tying the strips together to make a new bandage.

Simon tapped his brother on the shoulder, doing his best not to look too closely at the eerily dormant face of Chloe. "Here," he passed him the bag.

"Thanks." Derek ripped it out and skimmed the instructions on the label before pulling up Chloe's shirt and squirting the infection.

"Did it work?" Aliena asked hopefully.

"We'll see," he muttered, moving back to sponging Chloe's forehead with the wet t-shirt and squeezing her hand tightly, as if sheer will power could bring her back to consciousness.

Simon stood watching for a minute before turning to Aliena. "You ready?"

Resolutely she nodded, following him to the far side of the room.

"All right…um, any spells in particular you wanted to learn?" Simon was at a loss for where to begin.

"Turning people into frogs?" Aliena suggested, only half kidding. Tori snorted from the opposite wall.

"Don't know that one." Simon smiled a little, running his hand through his hair. "What about a basic knock-back spell?"

"What does that do?"

"This," he held his hands up and directed a knock-back spell at her, only meaning to push her back a step. Instead, she tumbled to the ground.

"_Ow_." she scowled, picking herself up again and brushing the dirt off. "I didn't need to _feel_ it demonstrated."

"Sorry," Simon said, though inside he was feeling smug. All his practicing must be paying off if he could now actually knock people over. "But does that look like something you'd want to learn?"

"Well, it definitely would get rid of attackers. Can you show me how?"

"Well lift your hands up like this," he demonstrated, holding his arms parallel with the palms facing out. "And now just imagine you're pushing me over with your mind."

"All right…" she looked doubtful but she assumed the position.

"Focus," he advised after a moment where nothing happened.

"Trying to," she muttered through gritted teeth, squeezing her eyes shut in concentration like she had when trying to conjure the fireball the other day. Simon felt a telepathetic poke.

"Did it work?" she opened her eyes again and let her arms fall to her sides, breathing heavily.

"Yeah, just try pushing a little harder this time." he suggested gently.

She nodded then resumed her attempt. This time Simon was actually forced to take a step back.

"Good job!" he praised, pleased his pupil had had a relative success on her second try.

She gave him a shaky smile, and only then did he notice all the color had drained out of her face. Beads of sweat clung to her brow and she was swaying on her feet. "Are you-"

"I'm fine. Just give me a minute," she slid down to sit against the wall, eyes closed and mouth open as she struggled to regain her breath.

"Yeah, sure," he agreed, concerned by how exhausted she seemed. He felt a wave of sympathy as he realized Liz's description of her "failure" weak powers was all too accurate.

Several minutes later she pushed herself to her feet. "Can I try again?"

"Go for it." he tensed his muscles, waiting to be pushed back. Like before he was shoved back a step. Like before, she almost fainted.

They continued this process for over an hour; Aliena trying to cast the spell and then having to take a five minute break. When her breaks started getting longer and longer and the color stopped returning to her cheeks, Simon decided she had had enough for the day.

"Why don't we practice again tomorrow?" he recommended gently.

"But I almost got it-" she protested, a stubbornly determined look on her face.

"Quit while you're still conscious," Tori, who had been silently watching the training, piped up. After a moment where Simon thought she was going to argue, Aliena nodded.

"Ok. We can try again later."

Simon turned back to Derek and Chloe, neither of whom had moved. "Did the antibiotic help?" he called.

"Not yet," Derek snapped, voice tense.

Simon let out a heavy breath of disappointment then proceeded to sit and wait in silent vigil for Chloe to wake up. After another hour where she didn't, he decided he couldn't take this waiting anymore.

Gently he placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. Derek didn't look up from her feverish face. "We need to get her to a hospital, bro," he suggested as cautiously as possible. "She needs help, like, urgently."

"No."

"Look, Derek," Simon sighed, kneeling next to him. "I know you want to help her, but you can't save her. Not this time."

"_No_." Derek repeated, still not meeting Simon's concerned gaze.

"She should have woken up by now."

"I _know_ that."

"Derek, she could _die_." That was what did it.

Several thoughtful moments later, after Derek had confronted logic and lost, he nodded slowly. "Ok. But only I'm going."

"Derek-"

"No." he said firmly. "It'll be risky. The Edison Group might find us. I don't want you three in danger."

"Derek-" he tried again but like before was cut off.

"There's food in the backpacks. Stay here. We'll be back as soon as possible, but if we aren't- just go. Do you remember May's number?"

Simon, realizing there was no more point arguing, nodded. "Yeah, I know it."

"Good." Derek sounded satisfied. "Use that to call her. She should remember you. Go to her apartment and hopefully we'll meet you there."

"Be careful, bro. And don't worry, she's going to be ok." Simon needed to convince himself this as much as Derek.

"_You_ be careful." he said, before scooping Chloe up seemingly effortlessly to cradle her in his arms. Then he was gone, taking the dying girl with him.

"We're not _really_ going to stay her and wait, are we?" Tori said after Derek had gotten out of earshot.

"Of course not." Simon led the way to the warehouse door to follow them.

**Yay! Go Simon! Don't listen to your protective bully of a brother (Love you Derek)! What do you think Derek will do when he finds out they didn't listen to him and followed him? Will Chloe be ok? I love hearing your guesses!**

**Oh, and I'm sorry I'm making Chloe out to be an overly proud idiot who refuses to accept help. I know it's kind of OOC, but I really needed this to happen to set up for my next chapter (which will be majorly dramatic- advanced warning.) Sorry Chloe fans! And more apologies if some of the dialogue is kind of weird in this one. I didn't know how to word all the conversations, but I tried my best to make them in-character.**

**Thank you to the 6 people who have taken my poll! (and Bertle…sorry you couldn't take it) If you haven't taken my poll yet… *wink, wink* **


	22. Chapter 22

**Mucho drama-ito en este capitulo!** **Translation: lots of drama in this chapter (except I don't think that's actually how you would say drama in Spanish…) Anyway, something big will happen (unless your life is just so intense that this you would consider normal).**

"Is she going to be ok?" Simon peered into the room.

"What are you doing here?" Derek looked up from his perch by Chloe's hospital bed to glare at them.

Simon stepped into the room and pulled up another folding chair next to Chloe's bed, Aliena and Tori following suit. "We wanted to make sure she was ok. So?"

Derek sighed, not totally surprised. "Yeah, the doctors say she'll be alright."

Simon let out a relieved breath. "Whew. Thank God."

"Did she wake up at all?" Tori asked, voice hushed to half its regular volume. Something about hospitals always seemed stifling, making whispers seem more appropriate than normal voices. Like a more gloomy and sinister library.

"Not yet, but the docs said that's a good thing. Gives her immune system a chance to recuperate. We were almost too late." Derek studied her face sorrowfully.

"But we weren't." Aliena reminded him.

"Yeah. They gave her all the meds to clear the infection. Now all she needs is rest."

"So we'll just hang here for a while," Simon lounged back in his chair.

"You should leave." Derek suggested, not taking his eyes off Chloe. "I had to write a bunch of personal stuff on her medical form. It's only a matter of time until the Edison Group hears we're here."

"Then we'll just wait until then." The settled into a tense and yet still relieved silence until Aliena stood up and announced she was going to the vending machine.

"Want someone to go with you?" Tori offered, being unusually nice.

"Nah. I'll be fine. You guys want anything?"

Simon ordered some pretzels if they had any and Tori asked for M&Ms. Derek said he wasn't hungry. She left, leaving just Tori, Simon, and Derek to wait for Chloe's awakening.

"How's she doing?" came a quiet voice from the doorway several minutes later. All three of them whirled around to see a tall Asian man, dressed in jeans and a scuffed jacket lounging against the door frame. His face was creased with permanent worry lines, but now he was smiling.

"Dad!" Simon bolted forward to fling his arms around Kit's neck, not caring that he was acting like a little kid.

"Hey son," Kit murmured in his ear as they clung to each other. After a moment Simon released him, stepping back to give Derek his turn.

"Derek!" His face lit up. "How is my favorite werewolf?" Derek rumbled a reply but something about the question bothered Simon. There had been the slightest emphasis on '_my_', as if Kit was establishing possessiveness over Derek. Quickly he shook that thought away, thinking wryly to himself _I'm beginning to sound as suspicious as Derek._

"Oh, it's so good to see you boys!" Kit said when Derek withdrew. Simon tore his eyes away from rememorizing his dad's face to glance at Tori. She was still sitting in the chair but her whole body had gone rigid and she was staring hard at the floor. He couldn't be sure if she was even aware of the silent tears leaking down her face. _Poor Tori_, he thought, _it must be hard for her to see us with our dad after her dad betrayed her_. He turned back to his father.

"…yeah, they want to keep her overnight," Derek was saying, "but we were thinking of taking off as soon as it gets dark out." Kit was nodding and looking thoughtful. "After all, the longer we stay here the greater the chance of the Edison Group finding us." For a moment Simon thought he saw an unreadable expression flit across his father's face, but as soon as it had come, it vanished again. He wasn't even sure if Derek saw it.

But Derek must've had _some_ suspicion because he proceeded to ask, "By the way, how did _you_ find us?"

"My tracking spell," Kit replied with a shrug. "Thank God it finally worked. But anyway, I have a better idea. Why don't you three all come stay with me at my safe house tonight."

"Chloe would stay here?" Derek's prior happiness was punctured with skepticism.

"Well, yes. You would want her to get better, right?"

"The doctors said she'll be fine. They've already given her the injections. Now she just has to sleep it off." Simon couldn't fathom why Derek's voice had turned so icy.

"Fine, she can come too." Kit snapped, exasperated. This was weird. His dad _never_ talked to them like that. Suddenly all those ecstatic and relieved emotions he had felt mere moments ago deflated like a balloon. "Let's just go."

Derek hesitated then shook his head. "No. We're sticking with the original plan." The two faced off, standing with mirrored tense postures, glowering at each other. It was like something out of a bad western movie. All that was missing were the guns…

As if in reaction to Simon's thought, he saw his dad's hand twitch towards the inside of his jacket. Derek, seeing what was happening, started to lunge forward but was brought up short by the muzzle in his face.

"All right," Kit didn't look at all regretful, just grimly determined as if being forced to do some unpleasant but necessary task . "We're all going to go back to my house," he ordered calmly, keeping the gun trained on the statue Derek. "_All_ of you," he looked for the first time directly at Tori who was lifting her head, eyes wide with a deer-in-the-headlights expression. Simon himself felt like a deer in the headlights. There was a strange ringing in his ears and he felt like he was about to puke up his peanut butter sandwich. He couldn't believe it. His _dad_ had pulled a gun on them. He had betrayed them.

"You're with the Edison Group now, aren't you?" Derek braved speaking after a tense moment of silence. Kit nodded curtly. "Why?" Derek's face had that cool and calculating look of detachment it always got when he was concentrating really hard.

"I know you won't believe this but I'm actually doing this for your own benefit. You don't understand the full capabilities of the Edison Group; you don't know what they can do to you-"

"Experiment on us?" Derek interrupted sarcastically.

Kit sighed. "You're right. They _can_ experiment on you. But they can also _kill_ you, and you know which option I'd prefer."

"Enlighten us." Derek snapped. "Because with a gun pointed at my face it's kind of hard to tell."

"Just come with me and I won't have to use it." It didn't look like they'd have much of a choice. Suddenly, the gun whirled away from Derek to point to Tori, spinning back to Derek before he could take advantage of the moment. "No casting please, Tori. Come on. We're leaving."

"Wait!" Derek was stalling, though for what help Simon didn't know. The longer they waited the greater the chance of the rest of the Edison Group showing up. He could only hope Aliena wouldn't be found too. "You still haven't told us _why_ you're doing this."

"Because I'm trying to protect you. 'If you can't beat 'em, join 'em,'" he quoted. "And you sure as hell can't beat them." he finished the sentence with a barked laugh.

"Well then-" Whatever Derek had been about to say was lost as Kit pitched forward, falling on his face and dropping the gun. Behind me, pale and trembling with her arms raised palms out, was Aliena.

"Nice knock-back," Tori congratulated. "Now let's go."

**Gaspers! Kit=evil. Yep, it's now official. Sorry to any Kit-lovers, but he really **_**is**_** trying to do what he thinks is best- he is just sadly mistaken. I know this chapter was a little rushed (what with Kit randomly appearing out of the blue) but I knew what I imagined happening and just wrote it down. Hopefully it still seems at least partially realistic. Let me know what you think! Any predictions?**


	23. Chapter 23

**Sorry it took so long!**

They were able to make it five steps down the hallway (Derek carrying Chloe) before Kit's back up caught up with them. "Sorry," Tori smiled at the group of familiar looking men and women blocking their way. She let loose a stream of fireballs that had them all jumping back, pressing themselves against the wall and letting the teens shoulder through them.

"Crap." Derek cursed, holding Chloe gingerly in his arms as he tried not to jostle her with the speed of his running. Aliena, still on the verge of collapse, stumbled after him down the narrow hallway with Simon right behind her, else she needed his help. Tori took up the rear, firing binding spells behind her at the recovering Edison Group.

A gunshot echoed behind them.

They burst through a crowd of startled doctors in scrubs, ignoring the shouts called after them. Only a minute later they were slamming through the heavy doors, Derek ramming them open with his shoulder like a linebacker. "Go!" he bellowed over the screams of the people in the waiting room and the angry yells of the EG. All five of them made it out of the hospital in one piece and tore down the street, dodging the honking cars that screeched to a stop by a hairsbreadth.

The heavy pounding of footsteps behind them alerted them to the fact that they were still being pursued, not one of them daring to actually turn around. Derek ducked his head and shielded Chloe with his body, praying none of the flying bullets would hit them. He risked a glance over his shoulder and saw Simon and Tori continually tossing spells over their shoulders. Aliena was just trying to keep up without falling.

"This way!" he called to them, ducking down a side street. Obediently they followed him like a herd of horses or, perhaps more appropriately, a wolf pack.

He ducked around a parked car and almost tripped over the curb but managed to regain his balance. A man walking down the sidewalk with his cup of coffee jumped back to avoid the gaggle of teens racing towards him, sloshing droplets of brown over himself in his haste to get out of the way.

He whirled around a corner, never lessening his long stride. A movement in his arms made him glance down. To his relief Chloe's sky blue eyes were peering up at him, bleary with confusion. "Derek…?"

"Of course. You choose _now_ to wake up," he muttered, though it felt like a great weight had been lifted off his chest knowing she was ok.

"What's happening? Why are you carrying me?" her words were slightly slurred but not incomprehensible. She wiggled in his arms a little, trying to peer around him. Her eyes bugged out as she saw Simon, Tori, and Aliena pounding after them, armed Edison Group members only several dozen yards behind.

"Stop that!" he scolded as he threaded around a parking meter. She obediently sank back into his embrace.

"What did I miss, Derek?" her voice was steely, all traces of sleep gone.

"Explain later," he couldn't waste valuable time talking.

Time ceased to exist as he barreled down the street, every so often having to check himself so he didn't pull too far ahead of his shorter-legged companions. Finally, someone panted, "Derek! They're gone!" Only then did he realize he hadn't heard a gunshot in a while.

He slowly jogged to a stop, instinctively ducking into a doorway for cover. "Everyone ok?" They converged around him, nodding shakily. Everyone was pale and panting, but no one seemed injured.

"Right. Now we need to find somewhere to hide." Derek looked to the others for agreement.

Chloe scowled, drawing the eyes of the other three to her as they noticed for the first time that she was awake. "No. Now we need to explain to Chloe what the hell is going on." Anger colored her words; she didn't like being out of the loop.

"Later." Derek repeated firmly before stepping from the doorway and setting off at a brisk walk down the street. Someone (probably Tori) groaned, but they all followed.

"At least put me down so I can walk," Chloe snapped, voice saturated with frustration.

"Can you stand?" Derek looked down at her still pale figure doubtfully.

She opened her mouth but then snapped it shut again, frowning. Chloe wasn't stupid- she knew she was in no position to be gallivanting down the street in search of shelter.

"How are you feeling Chloe?" Simon fell into step besides Derek so he could look down at her.

"Annoyed that no one is telling me anything. What _happened_?"

Instantly his face hardened and walls flew up behind his eyes. Without another word he dropped back a few steps to walk in silence.

CPOV (**Finally. Sorry she was unconscious for so long.) **

I didn't miss the broken expression that flashed across Simon's face in response to my innocent question. I watched as he slowed his pace to walk alone, kicking vehemently at a loose stone on the sidewalk. Pleadingly I glanced up at Derek, begging for a reason for Simon's withdrawal.

"Don't." He shook his head, giving me pleading puppy-dog eyes of his own. There was an odd note to his voice and I realized his expression was equally guarded. It was then that I knew with sickening certainty that _somehow_ they had found out.

"I'm sorry." I breathed, not sure if he would be able to hear me or if I even _wanted_ him to. His grip tightened on me but other than that he showed no response.

It was a silent walk to the nearest warehouse from then on, me silently brooding on how things could have fallen so completely apart in a span of twenty four hours and how it could have been all my fault.

The warehouse Derek had spotted in the distance was, unfortunately, not abandoned, so we were forced to retreat into the neighboring forest. It wasn't hard to find a clearing big enough for all of us to fall asleep in and potentially fight off attackers.

Gingerly Derek eased me onto a boulder so I could sit up, a feat that I must admit seemed daunting in my weak state. My whole body felt detached and dizzy, and though it was humiliating being carried by Derek while conscious, I knew it was necessary. I just had to suck up my pride, one injury too late.

Everyone else remained standing in a subtly defiant circle, even though they all looked exhausted (particularly Aliena). It was almost as if they were all poised for flight, still in "flee" mode.

Eventually Aliena whispered, "What happens now?"

Though it was an innocent enough question, the softness of her tone cushioning the blow even more, Simon's face darkened. "Well we can't keep looking for Da-Kit." he proved my suspicions correct.

"No." Derek grunted an agreement. "We shouldn't have wasted so much time before."

"Well _now_ where do we go?" Tori swiped the back of her hand across her sweaty brow.

"Where _can_ we go? Let's face it- there's _nowhere_ to go! There's _no one _ we can trust! _No one_ who won't betray us!" Simon bellowed, waving his arms around in the air to accentuate his point. "We're as good as dead!"

"Simon-" I started, wanting to help ease the pain in his eyes, but Derek gave me a look that clearly said 'I'll handle this.' He grabbed Simon by the arm and propelled him several feet away into the forest, speaking to him in hushed tones. I watched from a distance as Simon shook his hand off and argued, though I couldn't hear what they were saying.

"You knew, didn't you?" I said at last, speaking to Tori.

Her eyes widened with shock for a moment then relaxed. "Yeah," she admitted. "But I didn't want to tell them."

"How?"

"Back at Andrew's house when I was searching his computer I found a series of messages from Kit to Andrew. Needless to say, they weren't all the most reassuring. But you knew too, didn't you?"

I nodded. "Liz told me. Like you, I didn't want to be the one to tell them. I really wish I had now, though. Maybe it would have been easier…"

She shook her head. "There's no way this could have been easier for them to hear."

"I know." I sighed. "Like when I thought Aunt Lauren was a traitor…"

"At least you only _thought_ your Aunt was a traitor. My mom _was_ a traitor." I remembered Tori would truly be able to empathize with Simon and Derek.

"My parents betrayed me too." Aliena spoke up softly. She sank down to the ground beside me. We sat in silence for a few moments, drawing comfort from our shared pain. Derek and Simon were still arguing.

With each passing second I felt my strength flowing back into me, so when Simon turned towards the forest I was able to jump to my feet along with the rest of them. We needn't have worried; Derek lunged forward to grab his wrist. Another whispered argument ensued, us three girls watching with baited breath, not daring to approach.

After a tense moment Derek gave a curt nod and released his grip on his brother's arm, letting Simon melt away into the forest.

Head hanging he walked back to us. "Where's he going?" Tori accused as soon as he was within earshot.

"For some alone time." Derek shrugged.

"By himself?" Tori looked skeptical.

"Yes, hence _alone time_."

"But those guys could still be out there…"Aliena looked at the spot where Simon had disappeared from view.

"Right now he needs it. I trust him to be able to take care of himself." Derek said confidently, though I could see the anxiety masked behind his green eyes.

"Yeah, well I don't. His spells are crap." Without another word Tori stalked off after him.

"Should we stop her?" I watched her go doubtfully. I couldn't blame Simon for wanting to be alone right now and wasn't sure how he'd take Tori's appearance.

Derek paused then shook his head. "No. She understands from her own experience with her mom. It might be good for him to talk to her." He had a point.

Aliena, looking uncomfortable, said after a moment, "I'll see if they need more help." A minute later she was gone too, leaving me alone with Derek.

"And then there were two." he gave a low throaty chuckle, though it lacked the usual enthusiasm.

"Everyone's worried about Simon," I walked over to him and threaded his fingers through my own. "But what about you? Are _you_ ok?"

"I should be asking you that. You _are _the one who almost died this morning." he pointed out.

"Yeah," I let out a heavy breath. "And I'm really, _really_ sorry about that."

"I'm not mad." He promised, leaning down to give me a light kiss on the lips. I leaned back against him, drawing strength from his stable presence.

"What are we going to do now, Derek?" I sighed. "We can't keep looking for Kit. Do you still want to try and find May?"

He didn't say anything for such a long time I turned to see if he was going to answer. His green eyes were staring into the distance and his brow was furrowed slightly, deep in thought. At last he said, "I don't think so. I'm worried she might not be safe to contact anymore. Kit _is_ the one who told me to keep in touch with her. He would know we might go there."

"You're probably right," I sighed again, wishing we still had a goal, _any_ goal, to pursue, no matter how hopeless. "But what can we do then?"

"I wish I could propose we all settle down somewhere and get normal lives again, but I think we both know that couldn't be possible. Not yet, at least."

"I have an idea," A distinctly feminine voice said behind me and I whirled, expecting Tori or Aliena had returned. Instead, it was with great relief I saw Liz.

"Hey Liz," I greeted, the back of my mind noticing Derek's tense muscles relaxing slightly behind me.

"I saw what happened. Can you tell Derek I'm sorry about Kit?" I relayed the message which he acknowledged with a curt nod.

"What did you say about having an idea?" I prompted.

"Well, I'm assuming you don't want to still look for May, right? I mean, at least _I_ wouldn't 'cause didn't you say that Kit told you to go to her?"

"Yeah."

"You should talk to my great-aunt Mildred."

"Who?" she sounded like a deaf old-woman. I mean, whose name is _Mildred_?

"She's crazy."

"Great," I muttered under my breath. She either didn't hear it or ignored it.

"When I was really little, like eight years old, she would sometimes come over and tell me stuff, like 'be careful' and whatnot. One time she even spent a half hour babbling about how I shouldn't join the 'light bulb club" at school."

"You're school had a light bulb club?"

"Of course not! I told you she was crazy! Or at least, that's what I _thought_. But now I've been thinking about how she always seemed so scared for me, her and my mom, and I wonder, what does 'light bulb club' sound like?"

"Edison Group." I gasped as it dawned on me with blooming realization.

"Exactly what I thought." She nodded, glad I caught on. "So, even if she _is_ crazy, it might be worth paying her a visit. Just in case she _does_ know something about the EG."

"Good idea," I felt myself perking up with the prospect of a new mission to strive towards. "Where is she now?"

"A nursing home in Pennsylvania. They locked her up there as soon as she was old enough to meet their age qualifications," Liz gave a small disgusted shake of her head.

"Chloe?" I looked back to Derek for the first time since Liz appeared, hearing the strained patience in his voice. "What's going on?"

"We're going to go find Liz's great-aunt Mildred." I quickly summarized her tale.

Afterwards he nodded. "That _is_ a good idea," he admitted, speaking into the night at large. "Thanks, Liz."

"I'll show you the way in the morning. For now, you guys should get some sleep." I opened my mouth to point out we should wait for Simon and the girls to return but she cut me off, "I'll go keep an eye on the others. Go to sleep, Chloe."

Exhausted, I gave a sleepy nod before snuggling against Derek and nodding off.

**What do you think of Liz's idea? Is her aunt crazy or does she just know too much? **

**On another note…I'd like to thank everyone who ever reviewed my story! ****The Risks**** has now hit 100 reviews! You guys rock! (but this doesn't mean I'm not going to try for 200…haha jk.)**


	24. Chapter 24

**FLUFFY!**

"So _why_ are we going to a geezer home again?" Tori quirked an eyebrow as she turned around from the bus seat in front of me.

"To talk to Liz's great-aunt Mildred." I told her _again_.

"The crazy one?" she confirmed. I nodded. "Great."

"Well she's not _really_ crazy," Liz spoke up from where she was perched across the aisle in an empty seat next to an elderly woman who had no idea she was there.

"True." Derek, sitting next to me, gave me an odd look, reminding me I was answering a ghost again.

"Liz." I gestured at her seat with my eyes and his expression flashed understanding.

"What do you think Liz's aunt will know?" Aliena next to Simon mused.

"How to knit?" Tori supplied helpfully. Liz glowered at her.

"Tell her to lay off. Before she got locked up in the nursing home she used to be really nice to me. You know, when I didn't think she was talking crazy…" Liz said.

"Leave Great-Aunt Mildred alone, Tori," I sighed.

She snickered.

"_What_?" Derek snapped.

"Sorry," she giggled, "but really? Great-Aunt Mildred? Kinda cliché for an old lady, don't you think?"

None of us bothered to answer her.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the sun fade away into dusk. Finally Derek suggested we all try and catch up on some sleep. God knows we can never get enough.

It didn't take long for Simon, Tori, and Aliena to begin snoring, but I couldn't seem to shut down my whirring mind long enough.

I guess Derek couldn't sleep either, or maybe he just grew tired of my head tossing and turning on his shoulder, because he asked me what was bothering me.

"Nothing," it was true. I could find no specific complaint with life, not right this second at least. Just a general sense of unease. "Just can't sleep."

"Did you try counting sheep?" he suggested, only half-jokingly.

"What would it have been like if we never met?" I blurted suddenly, realizing that that was what was bugging me. Right now I was actually _happy_, but what if fate had missed by just one stroke of luck? What if that janitor had never shown up to my school? What if I had been sent to a _normal_ crazy house and not that of Samuel Lyle?

He sucked in a surprised breath. "Bad."

"I would still be normal," I mused. "Going to film school. The end of the year would be coming up soon. I might even get a normal boyfriend."

"No need to sound so regretful," he adapted a mock-angry tone, knowing that wasn't what I meant at all.

"I wouldn't be on the run for my life. I'd never have been shot- never been in more pain than a sprained ankle," I felt him wince. "I'd probably have gone on to a film college, maybe the New York Film Academy or the University of Santa Fe. I might have even gone on to write and direct the year's best movie. I'd have married a normal, nice guy and had two or three kids, at least one of each. I'd live in a nice house in a nice neighborhood, preferably in Hollywood…It would have been perfect…"

"I'm sorry things didn't work out quite like that," his tone was slightly bitter.

"No, you didn't let me finish. It would have been perfect but now I couldn't imagine having to live like that." he gave a contented sigh beneath me. "What would your life have been like?"

"Assuming I wasn't a werewolf?" I nodded against his shoulder. "Well…" there was a long thoughtful pause. "Let's say I still live with Simon and Kit. Can't imagine not, even if I _wasn't_ a werewolf. I'd probably play a school sport or something…oh wait. Scratch that. If I wasn't a werewolf I probably wouldn't have those genetically enhanced strength and speed powers…All right. I have absolutely no idea what my life would be like if I wasn't a werewolf. I've been _raised_ like one, unlike you I've always known about my powers. I honestly have no idea what would have happened if I didn't."

I scowled, even though I knew he couldn't see it. "You're no good at this."

"Sorry, but I really have no clue."

"Wanna know what _I_ think your future would have been like?"

"Go for it."

"You would have lived with your mom-"

"In the slums of New York."

"-and you would have done lots of studying and graduated high school as class valedictorian at age twelve. Then you'd go on to some fancy science school like Princeton or Votech and then you'd graduate and get a couple of masters degree. Then you'll invent some fancy science gadget or conquer the world or something."

"Hmm…world domination. Sound fun." I elbowed him.

"You think I'm joking…"

"No. I would totally make a great world dictator." I loved the teasing in his voice, the lightness that only seemed to fully emerge when we were alone.

"What do you think it would be like if we could live normally right now?"

"_Now_ now?" he clarified.

"Yes, _now_. Right this second. If we were to cut this on-the-run crap and start over at a regular high school in a normal house. Let's say we even had trustable adults there to take care of us?"

"Who? Not to be a parade-rainer or anything, but the number of trustable adults in our lives at the moment is dwindling on zip."

"I don't know," I shrugged. "Generic parents Bob and Sally?"

"Sure," he agreed and I could hear the smile in the one word. "Dear old Bob and Sally."

"We could go to a normal school…get _homework_."

"I could help you with your homework," he offered.

"Tori and Simon would love it, being normal and getting some other friends. They are both probably tired of us by now. Aliena probably wouldn't mind it either- she's still not adapted to street life."

"I could take you on a _real_ date. To a cheesy school dance or something."

"That'd be fun," I leaned back against him, eyelids drooping.

"Sleepy yet? Now that you've planned out our entire future?"

"Yeah," I admitted, wiggling into a more comfortable position against his shoulder.

"Try to sleep." he advised.

"What about you?"

"I'll try too."

"Kay." This time when I closed my eyes, they stayed closed.

**So readers…I have a question. I could either make their visit with Great-Aunt Mildred very exciting/dramatic with lots of action or a quiet respite for our heroes. Suggestions? Comments? Reviews?**


	25. Chapter 25

**Finally we get to meet crazy Great-Aunt Mildred!**

"We're hoping to see a Mildred…Delaney?" I guessed, hoping she had the same surname as Liz.

I was proven correct when the lady at the reception desk nodded. "Fortunately she didn't…want to go on the field trip." This _was_ lucky. We had arrived at Sunny Stones nursing home to find the lobby mostly deserted, an oddity when compared with the nursing home where I used to visit my grandmother before she passed away ten years ago.

"Can you tell us her room number?" Derek pressed after a moment where the young brunette just sat there scrutinizing our faces.

"I'm sorry, but _how_ are you related to Miss Delaney again?"

"We're…" I faltered, looking about to the others wildly for any ideas. "I mean, _I'm_ her great-niece. Elizabeth Delaney." Tori shot me a swift look but didn't further protest. I just hoped Liz had never actually visited her here, or if she did it was long enough ago that I could be mistaken for her. We _are_ both blonde…

"Oh," a knowing look crossed her face. "Yes of course. And these are your…"

"Friends." I said firmly.

"Letting them in isn't strictly protocol…" she chewed on a painted lower lip thoughtfully.

"We've met Miss Delaney before," Simon assured her.

"Yep," Aliena played along, too, nodding enthusiastically. "You must not have been the receptionist that day…I think she was a red-head…"

"Jill," the receptionist broke out into a smile. "Well, if she let you guys in before, then I suppose it's all right. She's in room 78."

"Thank you," I flashed a blindingly fake smile and followed Derek out into the beige painted hallway that was punctuated by doors on either side, each sporting bronze number plates.

When we were out of earshot Tori leaned over to Aliena and whispered, "How did you know the other receptionist was a red-head?"

"There was a picture of a red-headed woman in a wedding dress and a man on the desk," she whispered back. "It was just a guess that she also worked there, but it worked, didn't it?" Tori nodded approvingly as Simon looked on in awe.

"Room 78," Derek announced from the front of our little procession. He had stopped in front of a mediocre white door, so similar to the others but for the number on the plaque. "Ready?" he turned to us.

"Wait, should we wait for Liz?" She had left yesterday, saying she needed to check up on some things but that she would be back to talk to her great-aunt Mildred.

"We can't afford to wait," Simon pointed out.

Reluctantly I nodded. "Ok. Let's go."

Derek raised a fist and rapped sharply on the door.

A moment later it creaked open, just enough to reveal a pair of piercing blue eyes, crinkled around the corners.

"Who's there?" A harsh voice barked.

I stepped forward. "Miss Delaney?" she grunted. "We're friends of Liz…"

"Liz." she said it fervently, almost like a prayer. The door squeaked open fully, revealing a woman with a long braid of coarse gray hair running down the length of her back. She was clad in a tattered and worn yellow robe accompanied by thick carpet slippers. "Do come in," she ushered us inside what may have been the strangest room I had ever been in.

The walls were papered with a collage of religious posters, everything from a Jewish star to a picture of the Koran. Crosses hung on the walls in a surplus, and a bible was open on the bed's pillow. There was not an electrical appliance in sight, the light streaming in from the windows. Candles melted down to stubs were situated around the room, supposedly for when it got dark.

"Liz. They killed her." she settled down on the bed with a matter-of-fact expression on her face.

Surprise halted our words as we stood in the doorway in numb silence at her bluntness. How had she even _known_?

She took our silence as confirmation. "Ah. I see I am correct. Such a shame, a shame. I tried to warn her…" she gave a disgusted shake of her head, braid swinging behind her.

"Miss Delaney?" Derek started, leaning against a lopsided wooden dresser on which balanced some elaborate knotted rope.

"Mildred." she ordered. "Call me Mildred."

"Mildred," his face set in a firm expression. "Have you ever heard of the Edison Group?"

Panic flashed in her eyes as she glanced fearfully back and forth. "The light bulb club! Don't trust the light bulb club!"

"Is that the Edison Group?" he pressed.

"Oh the light bulb club!" she moaned, seeming to deflate a little. Her shoulders slumped and a defeated expression pasted itself onto her face.

"So you _have_ heard of it?" he confirmed. Being Derek, he needed to be absolutely positively sure he had his facts straight.

"What do you know?" Tori leaned forward eagerly, choppy brown hair swinging into her eyes.

"My sister. They took my sister." the old woman seemed to calm down a bit, straightening up again. "She could do things…move things with her mind. When she got angry, she threw things. Without touching them." her eyes glazed over with memory. "One day she got mad at me. I borrowed her new dress. She gave me this." In one swift motion she tugged down the collar of the robe to reveal a long puckered scar scraping across the top of her shoulder. "She threw a belt at me…"

"What did they do to her?" Aliena's eyes were lit with a feverish glow as she stared intently at the old woman.

"Experiments." she met Aliena's gaze with a steely glare of her own. "Terrible experiments."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Like-"

"Mildred?" A high pitched nasally voice called from behind the closed door. "Are you awake?"

"Go away!" she rasped.

"Now, now, Mildred." The door was pushed open to reveal a young nurse in floral scrubs. "You remember what we said about being anti-social- oh!" she had just noticed us standing around the edges of the cramped and cluttered room. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you had guests over-"

"Guests? Oh, them." where her blue eyes had been carefully studying us a moment ago, they now spared us an offhand glance. "Isn't it time for Bingo?"

"Yes, but if you have guests you can be excused…" the nurse kept glancing from us to Mildred, clearly unsure how to handle the situation.

"No. I want to play Bingo." Liz _had_ said she had gone crazy. For a few minutes there it had seemed Mildred was on the verge of helping us reach valuable conclusions about the Edison Group, but now it appeared we had lost her to Bingo.

"Well, what about your guests?" the nurse shot us an imploring look.

"They can come too."

So that's how the five of us ended up sitting in the corner of a musty room crammed with tables and wheelchairs as a dozen or so old people played Bingo.

"You know," Tori muttered under her breath, as if to herself, "I _used_ to have a life. Look what it has been reduced to; Granny bingo." right on cue, one old lady in the far corner croaked "Bingo!" A nurse bustled over to check and shook her head. This happened most of the times someone called "Bingo", which happened after each card was read. It appeared most of the old people would just place their bingo chips on any random space, making the pace of play excruciatingly slow. I was ready to rip my hair out by this point.

"Think they'd let us play?" Simon looked towards the prize table wistfully. I didn't see what he wanted so badly; it was mostly plastic notebooks and yoyos and other cheap dollar store junk.

Tori elbowed him. "Stupid. Why would you _want_ to?"

"Bingo's fun," he defended.

"Yeah, when all your players are still _breathing_." Aliena jerked her head at one geezer across the room who was slumped over in his wheelchair. I snickered into my hand.

Derek cocked his head, listening. "Don't worry, everyone's still breathing. And about 50% of them are snoring right now…"

In only a matter of minutes the five of us were laughing in the corner, trying (and failing) to disguise the giggles as coughs. Some of the hovering nurses were shooting us annoyed looks but no one came over to stop us.

But of course, that's when the Edison Group had to arrive, armed with their guns and sorcerers, leaving little old men and women scurrying for what was left of their lives.

**Sorry for the slight cliffhanger. Will post ASAP. In the meantime…please review! **


	26. Chapter 26

**End of the random cliffhanger:**

My face was stuffed into a thick dusty carpet, making me gag. I lifted my head to see Derek pinning me down with one hand and Simon with the other, having already knocked Tori and Aliena on their faces.

"Wha…?" Simon blinked dazedly, just as a stream of gunshots erupted above our heads.

"Stay down and follow me!" Derek ordered in as low a voice as possible to still make himself heard above the screams that were filling up the crowded room. I glanced up to see the holes in the wall made by the bullet were high- too high to actually hit someone. That was comforting; at least they weren't trying to kill us. Yet. Or they had really bad aim.

Though I couldn't see the faces of the attackers as I was crawling beneath a bingo-clad table, it wasn't hard to guess. Nursing homes usually aren't the targets for random acts of violence. The question was_ how_ the Edison Group had managed to find us.

"This way!" Derek called over his shoulder. I dodged around table leg, ignoring the sting of the prickly carpet chaffing my knees. We followed him in a swift procession, making our way to the nearest doorway. Thankfully it didn't seem like we were being pursued in the midst of the confusion.

The second we broke out of the room we were on our feet, sprinting down another beige hallway lined with bedrooms. It was impossible to tell if anyone had noticed our absence from the bingo room, but at least no one was firing after us.

Breathing heavily, more with fear than physical exertion, we rounded corner after corner, delving further into the maze of rooms. Everywhere was beige, white, and bronze. Beige walls, white doors, bronze numbers. It only took a minute for me to become truly and utterly lost.

"We've got to hide," Derek mumbled under his breath. "Quick, in here!" He tried a door- number 123. Fortunately the knob turned easily (thank god for those 'no locked doors' policies these establishments enforced). He led the way into the mediocre room, all white and sterile with only a few personal photographs of an elderly man and young children- grandkids?- on the dresser. The entire neat and uncluttered room was in stark contrast to Mildred's, though it had a similar layout.

"In here." Derek ushered us fully into the room, turning the bolt behind us. He then turned expectantly to the far wall where, in Mildred's room, there had been a window, but this time there was none. Derek cursed and made to reopen the door but the echo of gunshots floated from down the hallway; distant but not distant enough to risk emergence.

Set in one wall was a walk in closet. He pulled it open and pushed aside some sweaters and trousers to reveal mostly vacant space behind them. "We should stay hidden. For now, at least."

Obediently we flocked into the closet, curling up into four individual balls as we sat against the back wall. Derek swung the door shut behind us, closing off all light and plunging us into blackness.

I heard the subtle rustling of fabric as he settled himself down beside me and felt his arm brush my leg but that was all. It was eerie in the darkness, too…empty. It was the kind of darkness that would have made me believe in ghosts, even if I hadn't known necromancers existed. There are very few times in your life when you find yourself in total and complete night. There's usually something: the moon, a dim light from an alarm clock, _anything_ to keep the oppression of the empty black space from being overpowering. Not this time.

After a silence so thick the tension was practically dangling in the air, Tori whispered "how did they find us?" though she barely breathed the words, the sound was too harsh after such utter silence.

"Do you think they've been tracking us?" I suggested, trying to talk as quietly as possible. I still managed to surprise even myself with its volume, though.

"Like with the bullet?" There was fear in Simon's voice.

I nodded then, realizing they of course wouldn't see that, said "Yeah."

"It's doubtful." Derek piped up logically. "I mean, what could they be using? None of us has gotten shot…"

"Then what's _your_ suggestion Mr. Brainiac?" Tori snapped.

"Someone must have told them we were going here." I could almost feel the accusing green stare glaring at all the occupants of the closet, not sure where exactly to pinpoint the blame.

"That's ridiculous!" It was Aliena's turn to snap after several moments of uneasy silence.

"Defensive?" Tori retorted.

"Derek, you can't _really_ believe it was one of us, right?" Simon sounded like he was trying to convince himself that.

"I don't know," I could read the tension in his voice, as deep as a novel. "But it would make sense. They knew exactly where we were going to be and at what time. No one else finds that suspicious?"

"Well of course we find that _suspicious_! But that doesn't mean one of us is a _traitor_!" I felt my voice rising and checked myself, bringing my voice back down to barely a whisper.

"Well how do we know one of us _isn't_ a traitor?"

"I'm not." Simon said immediately.

"Me neither." I scowled.

"God. You don't really think _I_ would do it." I didn't have to see to know Tori was rolling her eyes.

"I didn't." Duh. Of course Derek wouldn't.

"I'm not a traitor."

"Can you prove that, _Aliena_?" Tori spat the name.

"Can you prove _you're_ not, _Tori_?" Aliena returned the naming with equal venom.

"Aliena you…you wouldn't have done it, right?" Simon's voice was tentative. "'Cause I mean, you're kind of new to this whole 'on the run thing' and-"

"_You_ think I did it too?" Aliena made no attempt to hide the hurt in her voice. "I mean, I understand Tori but you Simon? I thought you trusted me!"

"I do, but-"

"He's right." Derek's voice was firm. "We haven't known you long enough to know we can trust you."

"You can. I swear."

"Well if you're wrong and we find out _you're_ at fault for them finding us…" he trailed off, not needing to finish the threat. The message was clear. If I could have elbowed him without risking hitting someone else instead, I would have.

"Well, nothing we can do to prove it now." Simon's voice was painfully (and deceptively) cheery.

"We can't stay here." There was a distant gunshot, so faint I may have imagined it. Derek continued, "we have to get out."

"How?" Tori challenged.

"We find an exit. Or a room with a window."

"Let's go-" There was rustling where I assumed Simon was standing up.

"Wait!" A plop as he was tugged back down by Derek. "Let me listen for a minute."

"Oh. Ok." We held our breath as he supposedly listened out into the hallway.

After a moment he said "It's clear. Let's go." Derek opened the door and let the light poor into the closet, bringing with it a vast relief. Have I mentioned I _hate_ the dark?

"Follow me and _be quiet!_" he cautioned. We tip-toed out of the room and into the hallway, the beige seeming threatening rather than comforting now.

He creaked open a door on the opposite side of the hall and glanced in. No window.

As we ghosted down the hallway, our footsteps making no sound on the thick carpet, we would continually pause to check rooms for windows. I don't know if Mildred's window was a fluke or we were just extremely unlucky, but none of the rooms we peeked into had windows.

Plaster splattered out of the wall, grit digging into my eyes and making them tear up. I coughed, letting Derek yank me into the nearest room. A spray of bullets followed us.

"Get _in_!" he yelled, holding it open as he practically dragged Simon, Tori, and Aliena inside. I glanced up and realized with dismay we were trapped. No window.

I'm not sure exactly what happened next but I was being pushed _back_ out of the room by a _different_, more slender pair of hands. "_Go_!" Aliena bellowed, giving me a shove in the direction of the now-frozen Edison Group member, poised in the middle of the hallway with his gun held up. It was uncanny the way his squinted brown eyes gazed off into the distance without moving.

I stumbled around him, assuming it was Tori or Simon who had put the spell on him. If it _had_ been one of them, maybe what happened next _wouldn't_ have happened.

Aliena ushered us all past him and we were halfway down the hall when the next bullet was shot, going in the wrong direction. Still, he was unfrozen.

I turned around in horror as he whirled on our retreating figures, gun raised. Simon and Tori lifted their hands but Aliena was faster. She used a spell to knock him back a step.

He quickly regained his balance but she did it again. And again. One step forward, two steps back. She was slowly advancing on him, hands raised as she meticulously and precisely stepped forward. "_Go_!" she urged again, not taking her eyes off the guard she was gradually forcing back.

In hindsight, we should have just had Simon or Tori go after her. Then, it seemed she had it under control. The four of us turned and ran down the hallway.

They hadn't been expecting us to be able to reach the lobby. Derek was able to creep up behind one of the two guards stationed there and knock him unconscious while Simon froze the other one.

From there it was a clear path to the outside. The only problem: no Aliena.

Derek made sure the rest of us where out and hidden in the nearby forest before agreeing to go back to rescue her. I wanted to protest but stayed behind the bushes, knowing I would only be a hindrance in the rescue mission. "Be careful!" I called to his retreating figure. He nodded without looking back.

Simon, Tori, and I didn't say much, instead just sitting there in the dirt in utter silence. We could still see the mottled white walls of the nursing home through the draping of branches obscuring our vision, and though before it had seemed a cheery place, it now seemed menacing. There were no more bullet shots.

Two minutes passed, then five. Ten. I couldn't take it anymore. I stood up, brushing the dirt off the back of my pants.

"I don't think Derek wants you to go in there to help," Tori looked up doubtfully.

"I'm not going in to help. I need to think."

"Don't go far," Simon warned, making no move to follow me as he once would have. Instead of being bothered by this, I was relieved. Our awkward romantic relationship had obviously come to an end.

I wandered into the forest, staying within earshot of Simon and Tori just in case…

It took every nerve in my body to force myself to meander placidly around the thick forest underbrush as opposed to dashing in to save my boyfriend and friend. Would they be ok? Naturally I was more concerned about Derek's safety, but in the past few days Aliena had also proven to be a valuable friend.

"Chloe?" I whirled at the voice to see Aliena standing there, breathing heavily. "Are you ok? Did everyone else get out?"

I lunged forward, needing to hug her or something, just to reassure myself she was really there. My hand passed right through her.

Before I could scream, Derek arrived panting. His eyes said it all. "Chloe, Aliena's dead!"

**Thoughts?**

**I am **_**sooooo**_** sorry for the confusion. I assure you- Chloe is not dead. Aliena is. I didn't notice how that would sound before but after I got all the reviews asking how I could kill Chloe… SORRY!**


	27. Chapter 27

**Again, I apologize for last chapter's confusion. I repeat: Chloe is not dead. Aliena is. Sorry.**

"_What_?" Simon demanded, crashing through a bush towards us. "Did you just say-"

"Aliena's dead." Derek repeated, despair clear in his eyes. True, he didn't completely trust her. But in the end she had saved us, and that's what really mattered.

"He feels guilty, doesn't he?" Aliena turned to me. "Tell him not to."

"Don't feel guilty." I said automatically, operating on auto-pilot. "She doesn't want you to feel bad, Derek."

"She's here?" He looked up from where he had lain his head in his hands.

"_Aliena's dead_?" All the color had drained out of Simon's face. He sank onto a nearby log.

"Simon," Aliena sighed, walking over to stand next to him. He had no idea she was there. Tenderly she stroked the back of her hand along his cheek, eyes full of emotion as she studied him. "I really did like you. More than any of the guys at my school. I'm sorry."

"She- she's really gone, isn't she?" He gulped.

I nodded solemnly. "But her ghost is still here."

He squinted into the dark forest, as if willpower could make her appear. "I'm sorry this happened to you, Aliena." His tone rang sincerity.

"It's not your fault." This was spoken by Tori, who sat down next to Simon and put her hand over his comfortingly.

"Well it wasn't _her_ fault either."

"It wasn't _anyone's _fault." Aliena assured them. "No one to blame but fate, or destiny, or even Karma."

"I…" I felt like I needed to say something but could think of no words so I fell silent.

"Don't worry, Chloe." Aliena smiled at me. "It's ok. But for now, I'm going…away. Just for some thinking time, you know?" I nodded wearily, feeling like I was weighed down with lead.

"We should get going," Derek sighed after an eternity of forlorn quiet.

"Yeah," we mumbled agreements, reluctant to leave Aliena behind even though every moment we spent in close proximity to the Edison Group increased our risk of joining her in the afterlife.

It was a miserable tread through the forest, all of us wallowing in guilty thoughts as deep and dangerous as quicksand. In my mind was a tornado of _What ifs_. What if Aliena hadn't insisted we run ahead? What if we had run down a different hallway? What if Liz had been there with us? What if we had never gone to Granny Bingo? What if we had never even gone to see Great-Aunt-Mildred? What if Kit hadn't betrayed us? What if we weren't on the run anymore? What if Aliena had never met us?

So many variables…so why had Aliena's path ended _this_ way?

When we next reached a clearing the sun was just dipping below the tree tops. "I'm going to go check the perimeter." Derek said, voice strained. I could see he was falling apart at the seams and needed some alone time so I didn't comment. Despite what Aliena had told him, he was obviously still wracked with guilt for being the one to most blatantly accuse her of treachery.

The three of us nodded and, without another word, he loped off into the forest.

Simon was the next to go, announcing he was going to take a walk. If Derek looked internally conflicted, Simon looked like there was a mental time bomb in his brain about to go off.

That left only Tori and I, but that didn't last long either. "I-"

"Just go, Tori." I sighed, knowing what she was going to ask.

"Be careful." She advised, then dashed off to find Simon.

I wasn't by myself for long. A female voice joined me after only several moments.

"Ch-Chloe?" It was refreshing to hear someone else stuttering this time.

"Liz? Where have you been?" I whirled to face her then stopped short, sucking in a gasp. If Ghosts couldn't cry, Liz had obviously been doing the next best thing. Her eyes were red and swollen and a nasty substance crusted the edges of her nostrils. "What's wrong?" I softened my tone.

She collapsed in a heap on the ground sobbing. "I…I…am…_so_…sorry!" she gulped.

"Calm down," I knelt next to her, leaving my hand hovering in the air above her shoulder, though I couldn't make physical contact. "What's wrong?"

"I am the most terrible excuse for a person…"

"_Stop that_!" I snapped, her random bawling driving me crazy. "Tell me what's wrong!"

"Aliena! She's dead!"

"Yes, we know that," I tried to soften my tone as I realized that was what was bothering her. Liz _had_ always seemed to have a soft spot for our little hybrid.

"No! _No_! It's all my fault!"

"Because you suggested we go see your aunt? That doesn't make if _your_ fault Liz. We just got unlucky-"

"You don't understand!" she wailed. "I'm trying to tell you that _I_ _betrayed you!_"

I flinched back from her harsh tone, feeling as if I'd been punched in the gut. When I knew my voice wouldn't shake I said calmly, "What do you mean?"

She blinked up at me, blue eyes swimming with tears. "They had my little brother, Chloe. Margaret was there and…they wanted to know where you guys were heading."

"So you told them." It wasn't a question- I knew the answer. Her betrayal stung but I couldn't begrudge her decision. I wouldn't ask her to choose us over her family, although I _had_ kind of been hoping we were becoming like a family.

"I'm so sorry, Chloe! I wouldn't have but they were going to _kill_ him!"

"No, it's ok. I get it Liz."

"But I-"

"Liz, none of us can blame you for wanting to save your brother."

"But because of me a girl is _dead_!"

"And a little boy isn't. I think Aliena would have been ok with that."

"I would have." I hadn't noticed Aliena's sudden reappearance and yet there she was, standing several feet away looking down at us on the ground with an unreadable emotion on her face.

"Aliena, I…" Liz gaped like a fish, speechless.

Aliena held up a hand. "No. I mean, I _am_ a little mad but I'm still glad you did it. I wouldn't want your brother to be hurt…"

There was a ringing silence in the clearing for the next few moments.

"I guess this is goodbye then." Liz sniffled and stood up, brushing herself off though of course no leaves stuck to her butt.

"What do you mean?" Yeah I was kind of disappointed in her decision, but I didn't want her to _leave_.

She sighed. "You don't trust me anymore." I opened my mouth to protest but she cut me off. "_I_ don't trust me anymore. As long as I know where you guys are, I'm a liability. What's to stop them from recapturing my brother? If it comes to that, I'm sorry to admit the outcome would still be the same. I know _you_ understand, Chloe, but I doubt the others will. I'm sorry and I don't want to hurt you guys again, so I can't stay here."

I was silent for a minute, then "Liz, the others will understand too-"

"No." she gave a firm shake of her head, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "I can't."

"But we _need_ you!" I couldn't count how many times Liz's scouting had saved our butts.

"Well…" Aliena spoke for the first time in several minutes. "If Liz really has to go, _I_ could help you guys. Be a lookout, I mean."

"You'd do that?" Liz blinked at her, looking on the verge of crying again.

"Of course. That is, if you're sure you can't anymore…"

"How about you _both_ help us?" I suggested.

Liz shook her head sadly, taking a step back. "I'm sorry Chloe. We'll see each other again. Probably." Her edges were blurring and she was becoming semi-translucent.

"Liz, you don't have to leave…"

"Take care of yourselves." She was gone.

I felt tears of my own stinging my eyes. "Bye, Liz," I whispered into the empty air.

I didn't realize Aliena had come forward to rest a hand above my arm until she spoke. "She just feels guilty right now. She'll be back, I'm sure."

"Did you mean what you said?" I asked her. "You really want to help us? It's not like you'd rather be visiting other relatives or something?"

She snorted. "I'm adopted and the only family I've ever known betrayed me. Who would I visit? Now let's go tell the others what happened."

**Sorry kind of a dry chapter. More action to come! But in the meantime…your thoughts?**

**(oh, and I started another story too. **_**The Reminders**_**. Check it out!)**


	28. Chapter 28

**Can I apologize fifty gazillion times please? I am sooooooooooo sorry. I don't even **_**want**_** to know how long it's been since I last posted…On the plus side, I have the next few chapters either already written or planned out, so they should come faster now.**

**In case you forgot what's going on in this story (yes, it has unfortunately been that long that that **_**is**_** a possibility), here's a brief summary:**

**Chloe tries to scout ahead for an escape route from the "safe house" but ends up getting shot. Derek rescues her, nurses her back to health, until she realizes there's a tracking chip in the bullet so she runs away again trying to protect the others. They catch up to her, save her from the Edison group, we learn Kit is evil, etc. They're on the run, arguing amongst themselves removing the bullet, run into the EG a few times…Finally when Chloe's about to take the bullet out herself they agree to help her and they do the surgery but then meet up with another supernatural who is a combination of all the supernaturals but that makes her less powerful (FYI her name's Aliena). Chloe's bullet wound gets infected but they don't realize this until she's unconscious, Derek takes her to the hospital and the others follow. There, she survives but not before Kit shows up and exhibits his evil-ness. Then, not having anything better to do, they go to a nursing home to visit Liz's wise Great-Aunt Mildred, play some Granny Bingo, and get attacked by EG members. Aliena's killed but the rest escape, only then do they find out Liz is the one who betrayed them, telling the EG where they were headed because they had her little brother hostage. She feels she can't be trusted anymore so she willingly leaves (forever? Maybe.) but Aliena agrees to serve as their ghostly guide anyway.**

**Zoom forward…and here it is!**

Once Aliena had helped me to round up the rest of the group, I broke the news of Liz's betrayal to them. Tori looked on the verge of tears and Derek looked downright stoic, but they bore it silently.

"Well then," Simon said at last after several moments of silence following the confession. "What now?"

Derek was the one to answer him. "We should get away from here," he glanced behind him, in the direction of the nursing home which was still too close for comfort.

Not much was said as we treaded noiselessly through the forest, winding around trees with no particular direction in mind except _away_.

At last Simon spoke, trying to boost the gorge-deep moral. "This doesn't really change things, though. That's a bonus, at least."

Tori glared at him with red rimmed eyes. "How can you even _suggest_ that?" she snapped.

"I just mean that-"

"Aliena's dead and my best friend's a traitor. Things have been changed." her crisp tone effectively settled the matter, Simon's mouth snapping shut with a click. Once again, we were plunged into silence.

"There's a town over this way," Derek broke it eventually, subtly changing direction to head a few degrees to the left. He was right; a paved road cropped up after another few steps. We followed it through suburban neighborhoods until we reached the downtown area, needing somewhere to rest and get food.

There was a tiny coffee shop nestled between a Thai takeout place and a bookstore. Derek veered off towards it, pushing through the door emitting a tinkling of miniature bells. A few of the dozen or so people scattered around the cozy little shop glanced up to see the newcomers but looked away again, disinterested.

We sat (or maybe collapsed would be more appropriate) in plush arm chairs situated around a low wooden coffee table. Within seconds a twig-like waitress bustled over to us, asking for our orders. We all got hot chocolate, needing the sugary energy boost.

Only another minute later and I was cradling the ceramic green mug in my hand, blowing off the steam. Simon, sitting across from me, was fanning his mouth desperately after taking a premature sip.

Mounted on the far wall was a small TV screen, blaring the news. I sank back into the chair, taking tiny tentative sips of my drink, and tried to watch it, wishing I could find it in me to care what was going on in the rest of the world. It seemed lately there _was_ no 'rest of the world', just our little universe of five- make that four. It was still hard to believe I wouldn't turn to my left and see Aliena sitting there, though I had only known her for a short while.

We all stared listlessly at the TV, no sound but that and the background mutter of private conversations around us, and the occasional slurping of hot chocolate. I watched through the full reports of a grocery store robbery in NYC, a car crash, the negative effects of Facebook.

So I was only half-watching when the segment about the car driven into the Hudson River came on. "…late last night, supposedly sometime between eleven and twelve pm US standard time, John Saunders drove his silver Porsche into the Hudson River..." I choked on my hot chocolate, sure I had misheard. I could have sworn for a second they had said _my_ dad's name…

"Chloe?" Derek patted me on the back as I struggled to regain my breath. I gagged but forced my eyes back to the TV, trying to make myself believe that wasn't my dad's face beaming up on the screen. Derek, following my gaze, blanched.

"No body has yet been found…" Panic, brisk and painful, squeezed my heart. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think. Tears of fear were dripping noisily down my face as I simultaneously coughed and sobbed. My dad? Dead!

"Chloe, think. It's got to be a mistake. You have to stop that, people are staring…" Derek whispered into my ear as he rubbed my back. I was dimly aware he was right, all eyes, including the waitress's, were fixed on me.

"_Derek_," Simon said, exasperated. "How could you say that when-"

"We should go," Derek stood up and reached down a hand to help me up…or perhaps _drag_ me out of there if I couldn't regain enough control.

I clamped up, forcing the tears into confinement in the back of my retinas. I couldn't leave, I had to stay…to _hear_…

Derek, seeming to realize this, sat down again but reached down to pry my fingers off the edge of the table and squeeze my hand tightly. I stared at the TV it flashed back to the reporter who was sitting there with her omnipresent expression of detached solemnity. How was she so calm? She was talking about my dad!

Through the ringing in my ears I could only catch snatches of the report, yet it was enough. "Daughter ran away…coworkers say he was depressed…successful businessman…suicide…no body…house searched…note…"

A paper appeared next, wrinkled, sporting all-too-familiar handwriting. The reporter's voice began reading it aloud in an unfeeling monotone, though in my head it was my dad's voice, raw with emotion, that I heard.

_Chloe, if you're reading this, I'm sorry. The fact is, you probably _won't_ be reading this. You've been gone for so long, the police doubt you'll ever return home alive. Though I don't want to believe it, it's probably true. Just know what I'm about to do isn't your fault. It's my decision, my last way to prove to you how much I love you. I _do_ love you, Chloe, more than anything. I know you may find that hard to believe thanks to all the times I neglected to show that, but without having you to support, my job means nothing to me. I am left with nothing: not my wife, you, or even your stubborn aunt, who has also disappeared. Without anything to live for, what's the purpose of living? Forgive me._

_Lots of love forever,_

_Daddy_

Tears had begun leaking down my face again and as the screen again turned to the reporter, I allowed Derek to lead me out of the café into the sunlight, leaving Simon to pay for the drinks.

Once out of the sights of the TV, I allowed the sobs to _really_ start, great heaving sobs that shook me to my core. _I know you loved me, Dad!_ I wanted to scream. Derek pulled me by the elbow into the shadows of the surrounding forest across the street before letting me collapse in his arms and soak his shirt with my tears. If I cried enough now, when I was done everything would be back to normal. Or at least, that's what I kept telling myself.

When I finally had run out of salt water in my body I took a step away from Derek, who was looking down at me with green eyes of anguish. Simon and Tori were standing next to him, I realized, all their expressions mirroring each others' pity.

"Sorry," I muttered, sniffling. "We should probably keep going, now. That's that, I suppose…" I hiccupped another sob, barely stopping it from launching into another all-out cry fest.

"Chloe, look at me," Derek cupped my chin and lifted my gaze away from glaring at the grass beneath my feet to meet his gaze. "Do you really think your dad would commit suicide?"

As usual, Derek's blunt questioning brought me a spark of hope. This was what I needed- someone to question me, keep me from spiraling down into a well of complete despair. "No," I answered immediately. "But if they found his _car_…'

"Do they have proof _he_ was the one who drove it into the water?"

"No…"

"So how do they _know_ he commit suicide?"

"Are you suggesting he _didn't_?" Tori raised an eyebrow. Her tone was clear of all emotion, completely matter-of-fact, reminding me that I wasn't the only one to supposedly lose a parent.

"It's a possibility."

"Yes," I took a deep breath, feeling ten pounds lighter with the thought that maybe, just maybe, my dad wasn't dead.

"Then what happened? Who's trying to make it seem like your dad is dead?" Simon asked.

That question didn't need a spoken answer. "The question is, _why_ would the Edison Group need you to think your dad was dead?" Tori mused.

"Ransom." I whispered as it occurred to me. "A trap."

"Trap or no trap," Derek spoke with obvious reluctance. "We should probably pay a visit to your old house."

**Thoughts? I know, kind of random plot twist (and the note was weird, but what **_**would**_** a dad who's about to commit suicide say to his run away teenage daughter?) Anyway, please tell me your thoughts! Review! And I swear on the holiest of all banana nut muffins that never again will I leave it this long!**

**:P**


	29. Chapter 29

**Next chapter! See, I **_**told**_** you they'd come faster now!**

**Oh, and before you start yelling at me that Chloe doesn't live in an actual house (I think it may have been an apartment…) we are going to pretend that she does. Ok? Thanks.**

"This is it," I breathed, standing at the foot of the driveway.

"No one's there, right?" Tori turned to Derek for confirmation.

"All scents are stale," he vowed. "Let's go."

The three of them started past me, taking a few steps towards the house before realizing I hadn't moved.

"Chloe?" Simon turned to me expectantly.

I took a deep breath, willing my feet to move forward. The fact is, I didn't _want_ to move forward. I didn't _want_ to see the house empty, with not even the housekeeper there. I didn't _want_ to take the risk that there _wasn't_ a ransom note, despite what Derek believed. I didn't _want_ to find out that there _was_ no trick and that my dad really was dead by his own hand.

But since when do we ever get what we _want_?"

I took a few steps forward until I was parallel with my friends. Tori and Simon were unimpressed but I could tell Derek knew what a momentous attempt that was for me. He reached out and gave my shoulders a squeeze. I allowed myself a brief moment of sagging against him, drawing comfort from his presence, but had to pull back.

Resolutely I peeled away from the group, leading the way up the steps to the front door. There I paused, but only for a moment before turning the handle.

I wasn't surprised when it was locked but I knew where the key was. I reached down and dislodged the loose brick in the corner of the second stair, a slightly rusted metallic key waiting beneath it.

My fingers fumbled to insert it in the lock, but after a moment I heard a click. Then I had no more excuses; I turned the handle and stepped inside.

It was the same as I last saw it, polished wooden floors still gleaming, the potted plastic plant in the corner still drooping. The difference was it was dark, not even the light streaming in from the oversized window situated atop the door serving to dispel the gloom. Whenever I came home from school there was always some housekeeper or another bustling about, casting a warm glow over the house. The other difference: it was absolutely silent.

"We should…probably look around," Derek whispered after an eternity in which I just stood there in the foyer, struggling with the melting pot of emotions bubbling inside me.

"Yeah," I nodded, still not making a move towards the staircase.

"Chloe? Should we check your father's room first?" Derek suggested when it became evident I needed another push.

"Yeah," I repeated, but this time I was able to force myself to ascend the staircase. The door to his room at the end of the hallway was ajar, giving us a premature peek into crisp whiteness, the only personal items the couple clothes in the closet and the two pictures I knew would be on the dresser. One of the three of us (him, me, and my mom) and one of just me, my last school picture.

I pushed open the door fully to reveal everything to be exactly as I remembered it, except for the bed. The covers were wrinkled, as if someone had slept in them recently. I glanced at Derek to see if my suspicions were right.

Frowning he went over to the bed, ducking his head ever so slightly, nostrils flared. After a moment he stood up. "No unusual smells. Just your dad." I nodded. That _would_ make sense. The police probably were just careful not to disturb anything when the searched, leaving everything exactly as they found it out of respect.

The stark room didn't need much further searching. Whatever note the Edison Group might have hidden, it was no longer here. Either it never was or the police had found it and removed it already.

The rest of the house didn't take long to search either. It was a small house, more of a condo really, and the rooms had always been kept in spotless condition that didn't allow for many hiding places. Even my own room, which would have been my next suspicion for the location of the supposed "note", was just as I had left it.

Sighing I plopped down at the kitchen table, resting my elbows on the familiar wood. My three friends took up the rest of the places at the table and fidgeted, waiting for someone to suggest the next step.

"Are you sure there's nowhere else we should look, Chloe?" Derek pressed after a moment of disappointed silence. "Nowhere that was special for you and your dad? You know, somewhere he would know you could find but the police wouldn't think to look?"

I put my face in my hands, straining my brain. There must be _somewhere_ I was forgetting…

Then it hit me, my dad's special place. It was his secret shrine; in fact, I don't think he even knew I knew about it. Without waiting to see if the others were following me, I bolted from the kitchen back to my dad's room. Three pairs of feet pounded behind me back up the stairs and down the hallway.

I flung back open the door, bee-lining for the closet. _Please be there_, I prayed before flinging open the closet door. I breathed a sigh of relief as I took in the boxy heavy-duty black suitcase waiting there as it always did between business trips.

I tore it out of the closet and flung it on the bed, fumbling with the front-pocket zippers. Out of the corner of my eye I was aware of the other three giving me worried looks, but I didn't care. If anywhere, the note would be _here_.

With a final tug of the zipper I exposed it, the barest exhibit of my dad's heart. Lying in a pile in front of me was a pile of pictures. Some were old, some were wrinkled, some were big, some were wallet sized. All were of my mom.

I pulled out the stack, flipping through it without letting myself look too closely at the person in them. There was only so much emotion I could handle in one day.

I went through the pile three times, pinching one corner and slowly releasing the other, like a flip-book: the most primitive type of movie.

After the third rotation I couldn't bear going through it a single time more, for eventually I wouldn't be able to ignore the familiar silhouette. "You look," I thrust the pile at Simon who complied. Tori searched next, then Derek, until finally we were forced to admit it. There was no note hidden in the stack.

"Sorry, Chloe," Derek passed me back the pile. "I don't think anything's hidden in there."

Averting my eyes, I gingerly replaced the pictures in the front pocket and zipped it up at a much more controlled speed than I had unzipped it. I trundled the suitcase back into the closet and shut the door with finality.

"That's that, then, I guess," I sighed, wiping my hands together.

"We should go, then," Simon looked pointedly at the setting sun outside the window. I hadn't realized how long we had been looking, much longer than I had assumed.

"We can sleep here tonight," I suggested, too tired to go anywhere else and unwilling to turn down the prospect of a warm shower and a bed.

"Are you sure? I mean, it's got to be weird for you-" Tori elbowed Simon, who didn't realize he was only making me feel _more_ weirded out by mentioning it. How many times had I wished to be back in my own home, my own bed? Now that the prospect was an actual possibility, I found it downright eerie.

"Yeah," I said for the sake of the others. "We could all use the rest, and I think it's safe. Right, Derek?" I turned to him for approval, knowing he would be the one to make the final call.

He looked torn but eventually nodded. "It's risky, but…we don't have any better options right now. We should be okay for one night."

"Okay. Assuming everyone wants to shower first…" I directed them to the two showers in the house, letting the two guys use my dad's and pointing Tori towards mine.

"Wait-" I called to the retreating figures of Simon and Derek as they padded back down the hallway. "You can put on some of my dad's clothes. They're clean at least," _and since you're both so freakishly tall they'd probably fit_, I thought, but didn't mention. "We can throw all of our clothes in the laundry overnight."

"Good idea," Derek smiled warmly at me before disappearing into my dad's room, Simon on his heels.

"And Tori-"

"I know, I know. None of your midget clothes are going to fit me," she made an obvious attempt at disguising the bitterness in her voice but I knew she _really_ wanted clean clothes.

"What I was _going_ to suggest was one of my summer camp t-shirts. They're always in the ladies sizes and the smallest they go is just a small…"

"And we all know you need _extra, extra, _small," She smiled a little to take the bite out of the words.

"You'll probably still be stuck with your jeans, though. Unless you want to try one of my dad's pairs…"

"Nope," she shook her head firmly, her now-shaggy brown hair swinging into her eyes (we all could use haircuts). "No way am I wearing old man jeans."

I blushed, mumbling under my breath that my dad wasn't _old_, but offered a pair of my baggiest sweat pants, at least for her to wear while her jeans were in the wash. "Thanks," she accepted them gratefully.

We took turns in the shower and it was comforting to be able to fully soak until I turned pruny. Even being able to slowly lather the familiar strawberry-kiwi conditioner into my hair was a luxury.

Once everyone was clean we began rummaging in the pantry for some food. A couple minutes and a Campbell's Instant Lasagna later, and we were sitting around the table content. Derek had on baggy gray sweatpants and a white t-shirt that strained over his chest, which was much thicker than my dad's. Simon's shirt hung off of him loosely, but at least the plaid flannel PJ bottoms of my dad seemed to fit him. I was basking in the comfort of a pair of my _own_ pajamas, soft fleece bottoms with a matching cotton tank top so soft and clean that I kept subtly shifting to feel it brushing against my skin. Tori was the most comical in the group, clad in a Camp Hoover t-shirt that showed her belly when she stretched and black sweatpants that only fell to her knees. Fortunately she was skinny, so they fit around the waist at least. Our own clothes were a distant hum from the laundry room where they swirled as the machine attempted to beat all the grime out of them.

When everyone began blinking sleepily, I started directing them to available beds. Tori would get the housekeeper's room. Simon would get the guest room. Derek got the couch. No one dared sleep in my father's room.

After saying goodnight to everyone else, I entered my own room. It was plain, the constant moving we did leaving no room for expansive decorating projects. The floors were wooden, the walls pale blue, the bedspread white. Only the clothes in the closet (clothes I was definitely going to be bringing with me when we again departed) and forgotten homework sprawled across the desk served to personalize.

I flicked off the switch and crawled onto the bed, pleased to find the sheets were still clean and _not_ coated in a layer of dust. I snuggled under, glad for the comfort of familiarity as I could almost pretend this was just another day in my old life and I would be waking up to an alarm clock at 5:45 the next morning to go to school.

Moonlight streamed in from the window, bathing the room in an unearthly glow that made me consider climbing back out of bed to close the curtains. I figured it wouldn't be worth the effort.

I rolled over onto my side and was just about to close my eyes when I saw the moonlight glinting off a pair of beady black eyes, angled directly at me.

My heart leapt into my throat, a scream about to claw it's way out, before I realized it was just my old stuffed animal, Ozzie. The koala bear had been my closest companion through the moves when I was younger, but once I reached middle school I had reached the conclusion he was unnecessary (at least for sleeping in my bed…that didn't mean I was kicking him out of my room entirely).

I tried to force my eyes shut but something was now gnawing at the back of my mind, something seemed off. I couldn't think of what it was except that Ozzie was the cause.

I sat up in bed, glaring at the koala bear as if that would expel the sense of wrongness blossoming through me. _It's just Ozzie_, I mentally scolded my irrational behavior. _He's always there-_ I interrupted myself as I realized something, something critical.

My first night at Lyle house, my dad had come to bring me Ozzie, not knowing I no longer needed him to sleep. I never came back home to bring Ozzie here.

I jumped out of bed and flicked the light back on with trembling fingers, heart trying to escape from my chest. _Dad must have brought my stuff back here_, I told myself, fighting the growing alarm, but I still had to check. I went to my closet, sneaking glances at the koala bear every other step as if he would suddenly whirl around and scream 'boo!'.

My clothes from Lyle house weren't there.

I checked and double checked, searching for my favorite skirt I had worn while there, hoping to catch a glimpse of my red v-neck shirt. Both items, items I had _definitely_ worn while at Lyle house, were absent.

I debated calling for Derek as I turned to the demon koala bear but decided against it. Chances were, it was just my hyper-active imagination, creeped out by the familiar setting, playing tricks on my brain.

With shaking fingers I forced myself to touch the bear, digging my fingers into his fur and almost pulling a clump of it out. I lifted him, turning him over in my hands as if a note would just fall out.

Actually, that's exactly what happened.

As I flipped him sideways, trying to puzzle out the clue he represented, a single folded piece of paper flew out and landed on the floor.

My heart was now a snare drum, rattling out upbeat jazz as I replaced the bear on the shelf and stooped to pick up the note. It was short and sweet, right to the point, just like a bad spy movie.

_7:00 PM. April 26. Lyle House. Be there, or Mr. Saunders dies._

-_The Edison Group_

I had four days.

***Dramatic ending* Wow sorry, I am so mean with these cliffys! Anywho, please let me know what you thought! Beware the demon koala bear! MWAHAHAHA! **

**:P**


	30. Chapter 30

**Sorry in advanced for the excessive length…I wasn't sure where exactly to stop it…s**

A few minutes later and we were all gathered in my room, standing in a circle around the note.

"Let me see it again," Simon reached out to pluck it from Derek's fingers, reading it for yet _another_ time.

"Go ahead," his brother passed it to him readily enough. We had all long since memorized the simple message.

"Be there or Mr. Saunders dies," Simon quoted, scrunching his brows together.

"Yes, Simon," I hissed, kneading my bed cover between tense fingers. I did _not_ need to be reminded. "We _got_ that part."

"Well, you have to admit, Chloe, it _does_ sound like something out of a cheesy movie." He put the paper down on my nightstand, only for Tori to pick it up a moment later to resume frowning at it.

"Yeah, well, in real life it sucks just as badly as the screen," I snapped.

He shrugged. "I'm just saying-"

"The question is," Derek raised his voice to talk over him, "what are we going to do about it?"

"What question? I'm going to Lyle house in four days," I said.

"No, if we decide that's the best plan of action, _we're_ going to Lyle house." Derek argued. "But let's consider our other options…"

"Oh, like not showing up? Letting him die?" I demanded, voice shrill.

"Chloe, just calm down and think rationally for a moment."

I didn't reply, fearing what would spill out if I did. Instead I stood and stormed out of the room down the hall to my bathroom. I shut the door behind me, deftly twisting close the lock.

I stood in front of the mirror, just staring at my reflection for a moment. My hair was mussed, blonde streaks poking out at random angles. My eyes were as blue as ever but watery with unshed tears and supported by bags that could store groceries. I leaned over and splashed some water on my face from the sink.

A knock came from the other side of the door. "Chloe?"

I didn't bother to respond, knowing I couldn't trust my voice not to break. I gripped the edges of the sink until my knuckles matched the white porcelain, taking deep breaths and trying to hold in the tears.

"Chloe?" the knob jiggled but even _he_ couldn't break the lock.

Actually, he probably could, but not without destroying my bathroom door and he was at least considerate enough not to do that.

After an eternity I unlocked the door, stepping outside. His head snapped up as I did so, green eyes full of remorse. Derek stepped away from the wall across from the bathroom door, reaching for me, but I held up a hand. He fell back again.

When I spoke, I chose my words carefully. "I appreciate you trying to find a solution…but I _have_ to be there. He's my dad."

"And I swear to God I'll do everything I can to protect him," Derek vowed, putting a hand over his heart. "But _you_ are my first priority. And I will not have you going to the Edison Group-"

"But that's the only way-"

"-alone," he finished. "If you go, we all go."

"No, Derek," I sighed. I couldn't let him do that, put himself in danger for _my_ dad, dragging in Tori and Simon with him.

"Fine." It was _my_ turn to snap my head up, blinking with surprise at his suspiciously quick agreement.

"Really?" I _wanted_ to go alone, right? So why did I feel a thrill of fear at the prospect, tainting the relief?

"_I'll_ go alone."

"_No_." My voice was firm. "Of course not."

"Why not?" he growled, hands clenching into frustrated fists at his side.

"I won't have you put yourself in danger-"

"And you think _I'll_ be ok with _you_ putting _yourself_ in danger?"

"Um…guys?" Simon poked his head into the hallway, bringing with him the awareness that both our voices had risen to shouts. Instantly I ducked my head, shamefaced. "Why don't we think about this in the morning? It _is_ kinda late…and we _do_ have a couple of days until-"

"Yeah. Good idea." Derek agreed readily, voice tight. "'Night, Chloe." I was left feeling like crap as he purposefully bumped my shoulder as he stomped down the stairs.

"What's got _his_ tighty-whities in a knot?" Tori, who's face had appeared next to Simon's, watched him go.

"Ignore him, Chloe." Simon stepped around the door to put a comforting hand on my upper arm. "He's just mad even _he_ can't think up a perfect solution right now."

I nodded miserably, this only making me feel worse because I knew there _was_ no perfect solution. Someone was going to get hurt, either us or my dad.

"Well…" he faltered, looking longingly in the direction of the guest bedroom.

"Goodnight," I said, giving him permission to go sleep.

He gave me a little smile. "Sleep tight, Chloe." I didn't bother correcting him. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

A minute later and only Tori and I remained in the hall. "Are you going to be ok?" her critical eye studied me intensely, seeing through my grim smile to the emotional turmoil beneath as only a fellow girl could.

"Yeah…" I tipped my head away so she wouldn't see the pinprick tears dangling out of the corners of my eyes.

"Listen," when she spoke again her tone was hesitant, yet gentle. "The bed in my room is a double so if you don't want to sleep in your room alone…"

This time I met her eyes, seeing the hope and uncertainty swirling there. We were friends…kind of. She could do nice things for me…kind of. We helped each other…kind of. It was a tricky and perilous relationship we had, full of hesitancy and wavering trust. Still, I really didn't want to stay in the same room as the note source for the rest of the night.

When I nodded she broke into a relieved grin. I smiled tentatively back.

True to my prediction, I did not sleep at all that night. In the morning, I rolled out of bed and straight into the shower, letting the soothing drone wash over me. I think I may have even nodded off when Tori (friendship moment forgotten) began pounding on the door yelling at me to hurry up.

In the kitchen Derek had already fried up some eggs and was sliding four omelets onto plastic plates. When he caught sight of me he froze.

"Hey," I said at last, after an uncomfortable moment of silence.

That turned him back on again; he nodded his greeting resumed cooking.

I set the table for four, even though Tori and Simon were still taking showers. Only once Derek was done did he sit down across from me.

"Chloe-" his voice was gentle and yet strict as only Derek's voice could be.

I didn't give him time to finish, instead resolutely picking up my fork and beginning to slice at my omelet. "Don't, Derek. I don't want to argue right now." It was true; I was sick of the fighting. We had four days to figure it out (more like three and a half now) and I planned to not waste them going in circles.

"Chloe, I just want-"

"We can stay here for the next few days." It wasn't a question but he nodded anyway, frowning slightly that I kept interrupting him.

"Yes, but then-"

"We can relax. Pretend we're normal again…" I continued as if he wasn't even there. I would keep talking over him until he decided to play along and drop the conversation.

"_Chloe_!" he hissed, frustrated.

"We could watch some TV…" I stared hard at the cabinets as I slowly rolled my omelet around in my mouth with my tongue, knowing I was being childish yet not willing to surrender.

"Fine," he shook his head, shoving back from the table. "When you're ready to have a rational conversation, come find me."

"I'm ready to have _any_ rational conversation except the one you seem bent on pursuing," I called after his retreating figure. He didn't turn around.

Even more miserable I pushed my eggs around on my plate, all appetite forgotten. Soon Tori joined, and Simon, and they chattered happily together about the prospect of normal life. I didn't join in.

The rest of that day I drifted around the house, a ghost in my own home. Tori and Simon had found the wii and spent the majority of the afternoon in a fierce Mario Kart competition. The door to Simon's room was shut, Derek presumably holed up inside.

I was proven wrong on that point when Derek walked in through the back door sometime later. Simon, Tori, and I were sitting around the table eating Mac & Cheese, having knocked on his door but received no answer. I had just assumed he was sulking after my tantrum this morning, but clearly I had been mistaken.

"Where've you been?" Simon cocked his head at his brother who slipped off his jacket and hung it on the door knob. I didn't miss the flash of white that peeked out of his inner jacket pocket before the folds of fabric covered it again.

"Out," Derek rumbled, moving to the stovetop where the extra Mac & Cheese lay waiting in a pot. He got out a plate (it was weird how familiar everyone now was in _my_ house) and loaded the remainder of the pasta onto it until he had himself a squiggly orange mountain.

"Guess I didn't want seconds after all," Simon muttered to himself, shaking his head at his brother. He didn't argue though, not when Derek seemed so tense already. I knew that was at least in part my fault but couldn't bring myself to apologize.

"Care to elaborate?" Tori sighed at last when it became clear Derek wasn't going to explain further.

He paused, head ducked slightly towards his plate so there would be less space his fork would have to travel as he shoveled in the pasta. "At the library. Doing research." Yep, he had gone back to caveman sentences. He really _was_ stressed.

"On?" Simon pressed.

"You know," Derek shrugged, straightening up a bit and putting his fork down. "The Edison Group, and stuff."

"Find anything?" Tori asked skeptically.

"'Course not." As if signaling the interrogation was over, Derek picked up his fork again and resumed eating with newfound gusto.

I wanted to ask about the papers that were in his pocket, suspecting they hadn't been there when he _left_ the house, but didn't want to with Tori and Simon there. I'd confront him privately, when we were alone. That is, _if_ he'd ever let me talk to him alone again.

Derek finished eating at approximately the same time as the rest of us, which was ironic considering we had a head start and about half as much food on our plates. Figures.

The moment the last forkful of macaroni passed his lips Derek stood up and dumped his plate in the sink before gliding out of the room without another word.

"He's still cranky I see," Simon looked after him disapprovingly, brow furrowed and face pulled into a frown.

After "dinner" Simon and Tori returned to their wii game and Derek was nowhere in sight, so I took the time to satisfy my curiosity.

Glancing over my shoulder with every other step, adrenaline rushing through my veins as I thought about being caught snooping by my boyfriend-_on_ my boyfriend. What seemed to be an eternity later and I had reached the jacket. I plunged my hand into the leather, groping around until I felt a roll of paper.

I whipped it out and held it against my side, away from the view of the door in case someone were to go into the hallway. Stiffly, trying to keep the paper hidden, I went to my room and shut the door behind me, locking it for good measure. Only once I was safely tucked away sitting cross-legged on my bed did I allow myself to unroll it.

It was a newspaper clipping. At first that was all I could process, the yellowing paper extra thin, words small and blocky. The edges were jagged and frayed, evidence that Derek had illegally ripped it out to steal it from the library's catalogues.

Once over the initial surprise, I let myself read it. It was an article about a woman who supposedly had a nervous breakdown. She started screaming, wouldn't stop until the police got involved and dragged her to a jail. There she was charged with the possession and dealing of illegal drugs and after a trial was sentenced to a year in jail.

The woman was May Souza.

I sat there for almost a half hour, just staring listlessly at it. He had obviously gone to the library for the sole purpose of checking up on his mom. And he had succeeded.

"Chloe?" A fierce pounding on the door brought me out of my reverie with a snap. "We're opening up the ice cream. Want some?"

"Coming!" I called back to Simon, stuffing the article under my pillow.

Over the next few days we relaxed, knowing a chance like this would be rare to happen across again in the near future. They simultaneously dragged and sped for me. I spent most of my time in my room, refamiliarizing myself with modern technology. An hour on the ipod, the next on the kindle, two surfing cable. It was nice to chill but beneath the outward relaxation I couldn't shake the growing fear within me, the want to _do_ something. I kept feeling that relaxing was risky, that we were all making a mistake. I was just _itching_ to take action.

The night before _the_ night, Derek knocked on my bedroom door.

We had been ignoring each other for the past few days more or less, being civil but not going out of our way to talk. I was sure he had noticed the absence of the newspaper article (which remained hidden beneath my pillow) but he hadn't approached me about it. I hadn't confronted him about it yet, either.

"Chloe? Can I come in?" his voice was hesitant.

"Sure," I tossed the book I had been reading onto the nightstand and scooted up in bed to sit against the headrest.

He creaked open the door, shutting it gently but firmly behind him. "We need to talk," he said as he turned to face me.

His eyes darted uncertainly around the room, resting first on the bed, then the desk chair, then the floor, as if trying to determine where to sit.

"Here," I patted the foot of the bed where he sank gratefully, making the mattress on that side dip slightly beneath his weight.

"Look," he sighed, "About tomorrow-"

"I'm going."

"I know," he sighed again, loud and uncharacteristically dramatically.

"So…" I prompted, quirking a suspicious eyebrow.

"But I'm going with you."

"Derek, you can't-"

"I can and I damn well am." he said, not angrily but forcefully.

"Derek…" it was my turn to sigh, in exasperation.

"Look, if you think I'm going to let you just risk your life alone, Chloe, you're stupider than Tori."

"Don't be mean to her."

"You get the analogy. I'm not letting you put yourself in danger without me there with you."

"I still don't-"

"If we go together, we'll be ok. That's what we have to believe." his voice was so solemn I found myself nodding.

"Ok." A small part, in the back most corner of my mind felt selfishly relieved that Derek was going to surrender with me, that I would have at least one ally as I walked straight into the enemy's territory.

"Great," he let out a breath as if relieved before leaning forward and paused before pressing his lips to my forehead. "Together," he whispered, lips brushing my brow. I felt a stirring of piece flood through me.

After a contented moment he withdrew, pulling back to smile at me. "I hate it when we fight."

"Yeah," I agreed. And that was that.

Hand in hand, bonded by the ordeal we knew we would begin in less than twenty four hours, we went down to the kitchen to tell Tori and Simon the plan.

"We're going with you," Tori jutted out her chin in a firm (and surprising) act of chivalry.

"No-"

"We're not letting the two of you go alone," Simon stood up straighter and crossed his arms, trying to appear intimidating. He would have succeeded, too (stupid tall people…) had he not been standing next to Derek, the most intimidating person in the universe.

"Yeah, you are." Derek growled.

"We stick together." Tori countered.

"Like hell-"

"Look," I shot Derek a pointed look as I interrupted him. "We need you two to stay here." Tori opened her mouth to protest but I hastened forward. "Who else is going to rescue us if we need it?"

Tori and Simon settled into a moody silence, probably trying to think up arguments, while Derek gave me a subtle approving nod at my diplomatic approach.

"Fine. We'll stay behind so we can save your sorry asses." Tori grumbled at last, having failed to think up a disputing comment.

"That's all we can ask," Derek gave her a tiny smile before turning to his brother. "Simon?"

"Fine." he sounded even more dejected than Tori. "We'll hang here."

"Thanks, Si-"

"But you have four days to get in there and out again before we're coming in to get you."

"Fair enough." I agreed readily, just wanting to avoid further conflict.

"Don't endanger yourselves like that-" Derek started.

"Hey, dude," Simon said to his brother, "you told us to stay behind so we could come rescue you, we're gonna' rescue you."

Derek looked away muttering to himself but didn't complain further.

After a while Simon suggested we go to bed, get some sleep for tomorrow. I did so, crawling into bed with a deep satisfaction that tomorrow we would save my dad.

When I woke up I gulped down a bowl of cereal alongside Derek, said my goodbyes to Simon and Tori (both of whom were looking especially grumpy that morning) and hopped on a bus to Buffalo.

Sitting next to Derek I felt the quivering of excitement stirring in my gut, making me almost nauseous. It was like that ants-in-your-pants feeling you got Christmas Eve, the day before a field trip, or as your ascending the first hill of a rollercoaster. That feeling of anticipation that just wouldn't let you be still.

"Relax," Derek hissed, after a half hour of my constant squirming.

"Sorry." I responded automatically. He reached down and took my hand.

The ride wasn't long, about an hour and half, and then we were pulling into Buffalo.

Getting of the bus and into the city, we still had over seven hours before we had to be at Lyle house. We went into a coffee shop for some hot chocolate before just wandering around, trying to look like we weren't victims of a ransom. Hand in hand, arms swinging as we window-shopped, it was almost easy to pretend we were a normal couple on a date.

As the time ticked by, ever so slowly, we stopped for lunch. Then dinner. Then ice cream. Only an hour and a half left now.

Derek suggested we start heading towards the neighborhood that contained Lyle house and I readily followed him, winding through suburbs then warehouses. I shivered as I remembered our escape…who knew how long ago that had been. I peered into every empty warehouse we passed, looking for anything that might be recognized. Nada. They all looked the same…or maybe we were just still too far away. At any rate, I wouldn't be seeing saw-man tonight.

As we drew progressively closer and closer to Lyle house, I began to think some of the buildings _did_ look familiar. Or maybe I was just imagining that because I knew we were getting closer. Either way, we were nearby with still forty-five minutes to kill. I didn't want to show up too early, or too late, so when Derek grabbed my wrist and led me to the shadows around one of the abandoned warehouses around us, I didn't protest.

"What's up?" I noted his hand scalding my wrist and the glow in his eyes. "Wait- are you changing?"

When he answered he seemed distracted. "No. Yes. Maybe. Not now, at least. But, Chloe…"

He trailed off, cocking his head and listening. After a moment he tugged me further into the growing darkness, snapping the lock of a warehouse door and ushering me inside. It was empty but for an array of crates and long metal poles.

Derek sniffed around for a moment while I waited patiently in the center of the room before rejoining me. When he spoke, he seemed to be picking his words carefully. "Chloe," he glanced down at his watch, "in forty-one minutes, we will be in a lot of danger. I can honestly say I don't know what's going to happen," he swallowed; that had been hard for him to admit, "but whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be bad. So," he took a step towards me and I must admit, I felt a small shiver of fear pass through me. In the dim light of the warehouse and with the feverish, almost desperate, gleam in his eyes he looked truly menacing. "I'm going to make sure we don't have any regrets."

I barely had time to choke out, "Derek, what do you-" before he was on me, arms winding around me and pressing me to him as he forced his lips against mine. I was too stunned to do anything but kiss him back, gently then with increased passion as I realized this might be our last time alone together. Ever.

Somehow we sank onto the floor until he lay on top of me, supporting most of his weight on his twitching forearms that rested on either side of my head. He kissed me like he had been wandering in the desert for a year and I was the first taste of oasis he had gotten since. "Chloe," he murmured my name between kisses. His hands grabbed my wrists and pulled them high above my head on the ground.

"Derek, why-" I had salvaged enough of my brain from the mush he was turning it into to feel bewilderment.

"Sh…" he urged. His hands encircled my wrists, twisting around them. His fingertips were rough, coarse. I had the sudden notion that he was mid-change.

"Derek, are you-"

"_Sh_…" he repeated urgently.

"Derek, _stop_!" he was starting to scare me with this fearsome desperation. I tried to sit up, push him off me and get his hands that had tightened uncomfortably off my wrists before I realized he was _already _sitting up, hands held over his head to show me they in fact were _not_ holding mine together. A rope was.

Suddenly I knew with utmost certainty he had never intended for me to go to Lyle house to meet the Edison Group. This had been his plan the whole time.

"_Derek_!" I spat. He put an arm around my back and supported me until I had fidgeted into a comfortable sitting position. I swung my arms over my head to bring them into my lap, squinting at the barely visible rope wound around and around my wrists.

"Sorry, Chloe," his eyes were still feverish as he stood up and began backing away. "I can't let you put yourself in danger. Here," he bent to leave his backpack next to the door. "There's money, some food, and water in here. Get yourself a bus ticket back to your house. Hole up there with Tori and Simon until I come back."

"Derek, don't be stupid-"

"I _will_ come back, Chloe," he vowed, still backing up.

"Derek, _stop_!" I twisted my hands around desperately, chaffing the thin skin to a bloody mess in my haste.

"Love you, Chloe." he whispered it before turning and dashing out of the door.

"_DEREK!_"

**God, he is so mean! Sorry if it's a little OOC, but you know me and my drama…**

**What's Chloe going to do? What's going to happen to Derek? What's the deal with the Edison Group? I WANNA KNOW YOUR PREDICTIONS! (even though I already have the next chapter typed up and am not planning on changing anything…it's far too dramatic ;) let's just say I bring in some other old characters…hey wanna give me your predictions about **_**that**_**?)**

**:P**


	31. Chapter 31

**Stupid Derek…s**

The ropes were not difficult to undo: an extra five minutes of methodic wiggling sufficed. The moment I was free I leapt to my feet and tore after Derek, pausing only to sling his backpack over my shoulder. The bag thumped against my back with every step as I wove in and around buildings in what I hoped was the right direction. Of course it wasn't.

Just as I planned on entering the suburbs as I rounded a corner I thought was familiar, a stretch of more warehouses rose before me, at least a mile long.

I had managed to get myself totally and completely lost.

Fighting tears of anxiety and frustration, I slowed to a trot then a walk. Damn it- where was Aliena when I needed her? I'd even take the traitorous Liz. Any ghost would be extremely helpful at the moment. For the next eternity I kept walking, putting weary foot in front of weary foot until I looked up and realized I as on a familiar street. There, at the end of it, was a yellow house.

Hope flooding back into me, I began running again, breaking into a dead sprint as I pounded down the empty sidewalk. The bag on my back dragged, slowing me down, and I debated ditching it but decided worst case scenario- it'd be useful.

The swatch of yellow didn't seem to get any closer as I ran, almost as if I was running in place. In my hysteria I began to wonder if it was a mirage until eventually I was able to draw close enough to notice the yellow frill curtains in the window and the little plaque in the corner: Lyle House- 1987. I was here.

Avoiding all caution I ran up the front porch and flung open the door. "Derek!" I hollered into the darkness. I clicked on the light switch and memories sprung up around me. I knew that table, I recognized that potted plant. "Derek!" I cried again, fear squeezing my heart as I tore up the stairs and checked all the rooms, starting with the boys' and cutting through a dusty nurse's room to the girls' side. Back down the stairs and to the TV room, the yard. Feeling about to puke I checked the kitchen last. A dark figure was sitting at the table, watching me with steady cat-eyes, glinting in the warm fluorescent light.

It wasn't Derek: it was Rae.

I stumbled in the doorway with surprise, choking out her name as I did so. "R-R-Rae?"

"Hey, Chloe," there was no warmth injected into my name; she spoke coolly and solemnly like a stranger.

"W-w-what-"

"You're too late, you know," she informed me calmly. She glanced at the glowing digital numbers mounted above the stove before returning her attention to me. "By almost two hours."

My heart sunk but I managed to force in a deep calming breath to control my stutter. After a moment I asked, "Why are you here?"

She stood up and took a step towards me. When she spoke, her tone was bitter. "Disappointed, are you?"

"No, I just-"

She held up a hand. "It's ok, I get it. You were hoping to find Mr. Creepy here instead." _That_ made me mad, especially after all Derek had just done to protect me (even though I _was_ planning on killing him later for it).

"What the hell happened to Derek?" I snapped. "Do you know?"

"They took him," she shrugged as if that was inconsequential, to be expected.

"And my dad?" I was almost too afraid to ask, but I had to know.

Another shrug. "Took him, too."

"But they said they wouldn't kill him!" I protested weakly, sagging against the refrigerator with despair. "They said he'd be safe!"

"Yeah, well, the Edison Group doesn't play fair, Chloe. You knew that. Only wish I had too. He's a valuable hostage- of course they're not just going to let him go. And now that they have a certain werewolf…" she trailed off, letting my imagination fill in the blanks. We had walked right into their trap without ever having a choice if we wanted to or not. Something else was bothering me though…

"So why did they leave _you_ here?" I demanded.

"Leave me?" A bitter laugh. "They didn't leave me, Chloe, _you_ did. You and Tori and Derek and Simon. You all _left_ me," her voice cracked on the last word.

"Rae, we were planning on coming back to rescue you!" I told her, inside recoiling as I realized we hadn't even mentioned her in weeks. When had been the last time we made plans for saving her and Aunt Lauren? What had once been our primary focus had faded into the background in the swirl of chaos our lives consisted of.

"Sure," she spat, eyes brimming with tears. "_Sure_ you were."

"We _were_!"

"When, Chloe?" she was shouting, actually pulling at the ends of her copper curls, one step away from literally ripping her hair out. "_When_?"

"As soon as we could!" I was yelling too, the emotional exhaustion of the day shortening my temper to a millimeter.

"You come to get your dad without a moment's thought, you're about to drop everything else you might have been doing to go save Derek- don't _lie_, Chloe, I see it in your faux-innocent blue eyes. But I never warranted the same priority-"

"Rae," guilt put a lump in my throat, making it hard for me to breath. "We were going to-"

"_Going_ to," she mocked, eyes rolling with hysteria. "Never got around to it, though, did you?"

"Well now-"

"No, Chloe," she shook her head at me viciously. "Not _now_. Not _ever_. You missed your chance."

"No, Rae, we can still-"

"You missed your chance," she repeated, before reaching out to slap me. Or at least, that's what I _thought_ she was going to do. Instead her hand went right through me.

"Y-y-you're a g-g-" I staggered backwards a step.

"_Ghost_." she finished for me, spitting the word out like it tasted bad.

"B-b-but, b-before when y-you were sitting at the t-table…"

"It's not hard to fake life." She put her arm just on the edge of the counter top as if it was resting there, pinned by natural gravity.

"B-b-but-" I tried again.

"You knew what they did to Liz, didn't you?" she accused. "And you didn't think to _warn_ me?"

"I-I-I-"

"Too late, Chloe. I don't need to hear your excuses anymore. I don't need your apologies. Not like they'd mean anything, anyway."

"No, Rae, you're my friend. Of course I d-didn't want this t-to happen-"

"Let's just say whatever friendship we once had is now over, ok? Ended the day you decided not to tell me I was in mortal peril."

"Rae-" She lunged forward, hands closing around my throat. I let out a brief yelp before realizing they passed right through me.

She drew back again with a laugh. "Bet you're glad I'm not telekinetic right now, aren't you?"

She was dead on (no pun intended). I was fervently praying for either Aliena or Liz to show up and help as no amount of mental pushing I was currently attempting was working.

"But don't worry, Chloe," she smiled sweetly, deceivingly angelic for a moment with her cherub-like face and hair. "As a ghost I made some new friends. Did you know there's some dead people who hate you just as much as I do?"

Right on cue another figure materialized next to her. "Hey, little necro." Royce drawled, grin chilling.

I instinctually cringed at the sight of him, so out of place in the warm familiar kitchen. "Rae, w-w-what-"

"Chloe, meet my new _boyfriend_," she leaned over and planted a kiss on his lips but he was looking at me the whole time. Those menacing brown eyes were daggers in my heart.

"Y-y-you-"

"M-m-me," he mocked, grin stretching even wider.

"We have more friends, too, Chloe," Rae clung to his arm, cackling at me. Behind them glimmered more than a dozen unreal forms, too faint for me to make them out except that they were vaguely humanoid. "You've made an enemy of the ghost world."

That was ridiculous, the ghost world _was_ my power. But there was no denying I was suddenly in a very, _very_ dangerous situation.

I turned and ran out of the house, a fork that had been lying on the counter flying towards me and stabbing me on the shoulder as I did so, having been flung by Royce. As the front door swung shut behind me I heard another maniac laugh, then, "And don't go looking for your other ghost friends, either. Neither of them are in any state to help you right now."

I was sorely tempted to turn and march back in, demanding what they had done to Liz and Aliena, but knew that that would only be putting myself in even greater danger. Getting myself killed would not help anyone, and going back in would make that inevitable knowing Royce's temper. Even if they only seemed to want to scare me right now, I wasn't so sure they'd be able to withhold themselves from actually killing me given the chance.

Once I had pounded out of view of the house, I let myself slow to a walk, dragging in deep breaths more to calm my racing heart than because of exertion. Suddenly glad I still had Derek's backpack, I subtly changed course towards what I _hoped_ was the bus station. I was going to go back to Simon and Tori, and then we were going to get help. And I knew exactly who to get it from.

**Sorry if bringing back all these characters is too weird…I'm just trying to keep you on your toes! Three guesses who Chloe's going to solicit help from?**


	32. Chapter 32

**Wow, **_**how**_** long has it been? I'm sorry but with school ending, finals, and a cruise I only got back from yesterday, there's been no time for fanfics. Sorry…but at least it's longer than usual.**

I used the spare key to slip inside my house, pausing in the entrance way to dump Derek's backpack on the floor. I had barely taken two steps forward before I saw a flash of brown and gold and all my limbs just froze.

"Tori, who is- Chloe, what are you doing back?" Simon narrowed his eyes at me as he stepped around the corner. Tori, who had been the one to put me in a binding spell, removed it immediately and crossed her arms.

"Where's Derek?" she asked suspiciously.

I felt the hands at my sides clench into fists. "Long story. He went to Lyle house alone and by the time I caught up he was already gone." I left out the little ghost bit, not wanting to frighten them unnecessarily. "I bought a bus ticket to come back here to get you guys before we all go to rescue Derek."

They were silent for a minute, deep in thought. Eventually Tori sighed. "_How_ exactly did you get separated? I thought the plan was for you two to _both_ go."

My face turned beet red as I struggled for a believable response. "He…He went ahead b-b-but I g-got lost…"

"Derek wouldn't just leave you like that," Simon said confidently. "Did he get hurt? Or," he swallowed noisily, "kidnapped?"

"No, no, nothing like that! Well, except now maybe…Ok, really, now we just need to focus on _rescuing_ him," I prayed they would let the matter drop.

I almost sighed with relief when they did, though both of their mouths turned down into thin-lipped frowns. "Do you have any idea where they would have taken him?" Simon called over his shoulder as he temporarily disappeared into the dining room, emerging a moment later with two bulging backpacks. Seeing my eyes on them, he explained "we thought it'd be better if we were ready to leave at a moment's notice. So, if you just want to run and grab some things…"

I did, sprinting to my room to grab a handful of random clothes to shove into Derek's backpack, alongside the remainder of the cash.

Stepping back out into the damp early morning mist (me having taken a night bus so as to get back ASAP), we hesitated.

"Now where to?" Simon said as we stood on the front lawn, the dew soaking into our sneakers.

I led them out of the wet grass. "Just outside of Manhattan." I began walking in the direction of the bus stop.

"_That's_ where the Edison Group has their lab?" Tori quirked an eyebrow.

"No," I didn't dare look at their expressions. "That's where we're going to jail."

"_What_?" they screeched together.

"In the jail there is someone who can help us." I tried to sound more confident than I felt. The article that I had hastily tucked into a pocket seemed to grow heavier.

"Who?" Tori wrinkled her nose, looking disgusted. "I don't want to get involved with any dangerous criminals-" Simon nodded his agreement.

I sucked in a deep breath, bracing myself for what I was about to say. I had no idea how they would take the news. "May Souza."

I kept looking ahead, dimly aware they had both stopped walking behind me, halted by surprise.

"May Souza?" Simon repeated after a moment. Reluctantly I turned to face them, some ten paces behind me.

"Derek's mom?" Tori's mouth was puckered in a little 'o'.

"Yep."

Simon's brow creased. "But she's…she's _dangerous_. I mean, a total loose-cannon. You should hear some of the stories my dad told me about her when Derek wasn't around to hear them…"

"She's Derek's mother, Simon," I snapped, "She'll want to help us."

"You don't know that!"

"Well, we can't exactly march into the Edison Group HQ by ourselves because in case you forgot, that doesn't work out so well. Where else would you suggest we get help?" I waited fifteen seconds for his answer before turning and striding towards the bus stop. Simon and Tori followed me without further complaint.

Arriving on the outskirts of NYC, we dismounted the bus. A taxi drove us to Gardiner prison, a formidable fortress complete with steel gate. Just driving into the enclosure of tall concrete walls made me feel like I was being caged. At that moment I vowed to myself that whatever trouble I will inevitably get in, I will _never_ let myself go to jail.

Entering the lobby-type room in front, we were immediately approached by a pair of men in identical security guard uniforms. "Can we help you?"

"We'd like to speak to one of the…inmates…" The word tasted funny on my tongue, thick and unpleasantly syrupy. It was hard to choke out.

"Who?" the guard was nonplussed.

"May Souza?" _Please still be here_, I prayed. _Please let her talk to us_.

"Your relation to her?"

"Family friend."

They nodded, accepting the lie. Well, I guess it wasn't _totally_ a lie…I mean, I _was_ friends with Derek and she was his family, right? That was the logic I was going to hold in my mind.

We were led down a narrow claustrophobic gray hallway to a long room split in half by a wooden counter and a wall of glass. Every few feet was separated by cubicle-type segments, blocking visitors from each other for privacy There was even two telephone on each counter section, one on each side of the glass, so people could hold conversations with the inmate.

Simon, Tori, and I perched on a cluster of chairs in the cubicle at the very end of the row. As there was only one other visitor, speaking in hushed tones to a man in an orange jumpsuit six rows down, we figured there was a pretty good chance we wouldn't be interrupted.

"Send in Souza," one of the guards spoke into a radio. An affirmative came over the system and then we were forced to wait several minutes until at last an orange figure was hustled into the room and shoved roughly into the chair on the other side of the glass. I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the first look at May Souza.

It was hard to believe this was Derek's mother. For one thing, she was petite, only a few inches taller than me and rail-thin. Her son would dwarf her if they were to stand side by side. I wasn't sure if height was a werewolf thing or just a gene thing, but either way he clearly inherited it from his father.

May was also a blonde, honey-colored hair chopped short to curl around her ears. She was deathly pale but that only served to illuminate her eyes, her only identical feature to her son. They were the same glittering green, and equally piercing as she looked us up and down cautiously (or at least as much of us as was visible through the tiny glass window).

I lifted the phone off the hook and placed it on the grimy wooden counter, facing up so all three of us could hear. After a moment's hesitation she lifted the other phone and held it to her ear.

"Who are you?" the words were sharp as if she'd spent the past hour scraping them against a rock to be used as a weapon. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Tori even flinch at her tone.

I decided to focus solely on her eyes, even though thy were the most hostile part of her. At least, in that way, I'd be able to pretend I was just talking to Derek. "Are you May Souza?" I answered her question with a question of my own, needing to make sure before I began talking supernatural.

She bit her lip, eyes shifting uneasily between the three of us. While before she had seemed the predator, she now acted like a cornered prey. At last she nodded, jerking her chin down in one sharp motion.

"Derek's mother?" I pressed. Hurt flashed through her eyes as if I had physically struck her.

When she spoke, her answer was a firm, "no." I would have despaired if not for the reaction she gave upon hearing Derek's name. She _did_ know him; the only question that remained was why was she lying about it?

"You don't know him." Another head shake, though it had been more of a tactful statement than a question. I felt like a lawyer.

"No, I don't-"

"Liar." Simon's cheeks flared with heated anger at this denouncing of his foster brother, probably his favorite person in the world now that Kit was a betrayer.

"I-"

"You're Derek's mom and he's in trouble and now you're going to help him." I was both awed and fearful of the steel that had darkened Simon's omnipresent cheerfulness. Here he was, polite little Simon, ordering around a woman in _jail_.

The head that had begun ducking immediately snapped up. "He's in trouble?"

Tori snorted. "So much for not knowing who he was," she said, just loud enough for Simon and I to hear.

"What happened to my son?" May demanded with the fierceness of any mama bear.

"He was…kidnapped," I half-lied. "By the Edison Group."

She gave a low curse before glancing nervously over her shoulder. "Alright, meet me at the far side of the prison tonight, as soon as it gets dark."

"But you're-"

"In jail, I know." She rolled her eyes at my apparent stupidity. "I can get out."

"How-"

"Just meet me." She hung up her phone, effectively ending the conversation. A moment later two guards showed up: one to escort her back to her cell and one to lead us to the main lobby.

"What now?" Tori sighed.

I leaned in closer to the two of them, dropping my voice to a whisper. "We're going to meet her."

That night found us crouching in the bushes outside a jail. "You know," Simon whispered to no one in particular. "If we were to get caught, tomorrow night we'd be on the other side of this wall."

"_Sh_!" I hissed. Tor just glared at him.

Not to be deterred, Simon made another attempt at conversation. "So do you really think she'll be able to break out? I mean, I think _Chloe_ may have been taller than her-"

"Simon," Tori spoke through gritted teeth. "If you don't shut up, _I_ will shut you up," she threatened. "Permanently." The tiniest spark of electricity jumped between her fingertips, too low for anyone who may have been watching to notice. Simon, taking the hint, kept silent after that.

We waited for hours, crouching low in the shrubbery until my calves were screaming in protest. Just when I had decided to sit down, noise-causing or not, a muffled thud resounded behind me.

I whirled to see a still orange-clad May dusting herself off, rising from a crouch.

"You just jumped off a twenty foot wall?" Tori raised an eyebrow. May shrugged.

"I'm still trying to figure out how you even got to _that_ part," Simon threw up his hands with confused frustration.

She snorted. "You didn't think Derek got his werewolf powers from his _father_, did you?"

I looked at her again, _really_ looked at her, straining to see the wolf. Derek I could believe was a wolf. This woman who's body matched my own in both height and bust was one too? I wouldn't have believed it had I not just seen her fall twenty feet and land like a cat (or perhaps more accurately- a wolf). Normal people didn't just do that.

Without another word, May turned and began marching away from the prison, head held high as if she didn't care _who_ saw her. It was almost as if she was _daring_ the guards to notice her and try to stop her. I doubted they'd be successful, even if they did.

My friend and I were more cautious, ducking our heads and trying to scurry along in the deepest shadows. After several minutes on grass, we reached a sidewalk then a bus stop. It being the middle of the night, it was deserted.

"You," May pointed a spindly finger my way. I swallowed noisily. "You have an extra pair of clothes?" Half embarrassed, I fished out a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. Giving me a smile so small I might have imagined it, she accepted the clothes and retreated behind a tree to change. The three of us politely looked away, staring down the empty street inside.

"Think we can trust her?" Tori breathed, tilting her head towards me.

It was Simon who answered her. "I don't know. I mean, she seems sane enough, but my dad said she's got a screw-loose-"

"I heard that!" May called, not angrily so much as resignedly. She emerged from the tree, looking out of place in my childish clothes, even though they fit. "Don't believe him, Kit's just biased. I assume you're his son? His Simon? You look a lot like him…"

Simon blinked at her. "I…yeah but how…well now he's…" he gave up explaining and fell silent.

"I knew Kit a long time. Used to even be friends with him, until he stole my kid." What were we supposed to say to that? We didn't.

"So, I know who _you_ are, but what about you two?" she jerked her chin at me and Tori.

"Victoria Enright. Tori."

I saw Tori bristle, ready to deny all ties to her mother if May were to suddenly start cussing her out, but all she said was "Hmm…" before turning to me expectantly.

"Chloe Saunders." If my name rang a bell, she didn't mention it.

"So you're a…"

"Necromancer," I supplied.

"I see." From her expression it was impossible to tell what she thought of this.

At that moment the all-night bus rolled around and creaked to a stop. There were only two other passengers: a weary man in a suit with a briefcase and an elderly woman catching flies. Neither looked particularly threatening but May led the way to the backmost rows of the bus.

"Now," she said as she sat down across the aisle from us, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees. "Tell me what happened to my son." Her eyes as she glared at us were almost accusatory.

"Well…" Simon glanced to me as if for permission to tell the story.

I gave a little shake of my head. _I'd_ have to be the one to tell her, as it _was_ my fault.

"On the news, it said my dad had commit suicide." She showed no reaction to that, instead keeping her eyes locked on my face. "We…we didn't believe he actually would so we went to my old house to look, you know, for clues…"

"'We' being you, Simon, Victoria, and my son?" she interrupted.

I bit my lip, thinking of Aliena, Liz, and even Rae. "Well, there had been more of us but they…they died."

"Oh." she bit her lip. "They're serious this time."

Not knowing how to respond, I continued with my story. "We found a…ransom note, I guess, telling us to meet at Lyle house."

"The group home."

I nodded, not bothering to ask how she knew that. I wanted to finish my confession as fast as possible. "Derek and I decided to go together, so we wouldn't be…alone," my cheeks turned bright red as I realized she had no idea of the relationship between me and her son. "Simon and Tori were going to stay behind in case we needed backup to escape again. But when we were almost there…" I trailed off as I realized Simon and Tori looked just as intrigued as May. I remembered I still hadn't told them of Derek's trick. I still didn't want to tell them, either. "We got separated."

"How?"

I didn't bother answering her. "He got to Lyle house before me and they…took him. Not knowing where they had gone, I bought a bus ticket to go back to Simon and Tori. We knew we needed help to bust him out, and thought of you."

"Why me? Why not Kit or Lauren?" I gave a little start as she mentioned my aunt's name. So she _had_ known her.

"Because my dad betrayed us," Simon spoke calmly. "And we couldn't think of anyone else. You were our only choice."

"Thanks. I feel so wanted." she gave a wry little smile before her expression immediately darkened again. "But did Kit really…" she trailed off, not seeming to be able to come up with the proper words to conclude the statement.

"He's with the Edison Group now." Simon confirmed, and only someone who knew him as well as I did would be able to see the pain that hung in the back of his eyes.

May nodded ever so slightly as if this made sense. If Simon expected any other condolences, he didn't get it. "And Lauren?"

I thought with a pang of my aunt, God knows where, probably imprisoned. "We don't know where she is."

"And yet you could find me?" May raised an eyebrow.

I didn't bother to reply.

Realizing I wasn't going to respond, May sighed. "Well, thank you for telling me all of this. Now get some sleep. We're going to need it."

Comforted by the parental order I had been given, no matter who it had been given by, I did as asked, tucking my face against the headrest and closing my eyes for sleep.

**What do you think of Derek's mother? Sorry if her personality isn't consistent, I was having trouble imagining her. Who woulda thunk Derek has a mommy?s**


	33. Chapter 33

Hi people!

Ok, so it's been five months since I last updated. Believe me, I am really kicking myself here for that. Sorry! Unfortunately, I kind of went through a bit of a fanfic phase in which I was obsessed with it…but like all phases, it passed. Now, though, I would like to continue if anyone is still interested in reading it.

Honestly, I would not blame you if you have lost interest in this story after so long and don't really care if I finish or not. I don't really have a specific idea of where I wanted the story to head next, but if enough people are interested I will try and come up with something…if you have any ideas, too, please let me know!

Okay then, I guess I just want to know if anyone is actually still interested in this story and if I should continue or not. The faster I get responses, the sooner I might write the next chapter ;)

-CaitieCat78


	34. Chapter 34

**I'm BAAAAAAAAACK! Ok, it's only been 5 months. Bad CaitieCat. Really sorry about that…**

**Anyway, it seems as if people want me to continue with this story (even though it is kind of winding down…) so, for now at least, I shall! Sorry if this chapter is not overly fantabulous, I felt guilty it had been so long and just kind of threw it together. I'll probably go back and edit/re-update later, but for anyone who cannot possibly wait another day for the next chapter, well…here it is!**

It took me a moment to remember where I was when I woke up on the bus. Despite my precautions not to get too attached, I couldn't help but find it unnerving not to wake up in my own bed again.

Peeking across the aisle, I saw May was also awake, staring out the window at the gradually brightening sky. I cleared my throat, softly so as not to wake Tori snoring quietly beside me. May turned, her blonde hair bobbing. Seeing I was awake, she patted the empty seat beside her.

I hopped to the other seat, mind struggling to prioritize the hundreds of questions crowding my head. There was so much I wanted to know…

She didn't give me a chance to ask, though. "I didn't want him to be taken away, you know."

The way she said it, so blunt and matter-of-factly, unnerved me, catching me off guard so all the questions I had been prepared to ask fled from my mind. "When he was little?"

"Yeah," she studied her intertwined fingers resting on her lap. "I never really trusted the Edison Group. I didn't want a part of their _experiment_," she twisted the last word, practically sneering it. Sensing she wasn't quite done, I waited for her to continue. "They came anyway, though. Of course, they didn't outright take him. No, they sent in Social Services first, using that as their pretense for taking him away. Because of the drugs."

Her voice was so accusatory that I couldn't help but interject, "But then why did you do them? The drugs, I mean."

She looked at me then, _really_ looked at me, almost as if for the first time. "What makes you think I did?"

I reached into my coat pocket where the article Derek had stolen was still tucked away. I handed it to her wordlessly, watching her eyes flicker back and forth across the page. I could tell the precise moment she finished reading, for she sighed and slumped back against the bus seat, one hand creeping up to rub at her temples as if she had a migraine. "This looks bad, doesn't it?"

"It _looks_ bad. But I don't think it really is. Am I right?" I was following a hunch, hoping she would prove it correct. After all, this woman gave birth to _Derek_. She had to have at least _some_ common sense.

That earned me another sigh. "You're right. I'm not a drug user. But I can't deny selling them."

I opened my mouth but she cut me off. "Before you start judging, I need you to imagine what it was like for a single woman to raise a child in New York City. I didn't go to college, how _could_ I have? How could I ever have explained turning into a wolf to my roommate? Not to mention the money, which we didn't have. Now my mother, my mother was a real drug addict. Where do you think I learned the business? You've got to understand, that's all it is to me- a business. A way to get a little bit more money when I wasn't working my butt off pulling double shifts waitressing. But I couldn't explain that to Social Services. They took my little Derek; he was barely even three years old." She tore her gaze away from where it had wandered back to her hands to glare out the window. "I tried to stop them but…Anyway, I just had to hope that they were treating those little guys well enough, there were other little werewolves too, you know."

"I do know," I said. "Derek said they were…different…"

"Different? Derek was probably the different one. He was always so mature for his age, so…human…" she seemed to give herself a little shake, dragging herself back to the story. "Then Kit got his hands on him…I had always liked Kit, you know. I'd met him a couple of times; he seemed like a decent guy. That's what I thought, at least, until he refused to return him to me. Sure, he kept us in touch, but it wasn't the same. I must admit," here her expression turned sheepish, "we did get into quite a few arguments, Kit and I. That's probably why he told his son I've 'got a screw-loose'" she quoted Simon.

Instinctively I glanced over at him, still sleeping, sprawled across two bus seats. "He didn't mean that," I defended.

"Oh, I know. Poor kid's probably going through a rough time if what you say about Kit is true…"

"Can I ask you something?" I said after several moments of silence.

A bemused smile quirked up the corners of her lips. "I think you've already heard most of my life story, but go ahead."

"Who's Derek's father?" From the way she tensed I feared I had crossed some line, my question prying too deep.

At last, though, she said, "His name was Mick Rhead."

"Was?" I picked up on her use of past tense, chest tightening.

She barked a laugh. "He's not dead," she clearly guessed what conclusions I was jumping to. "For all I know, he's living in a mansion somewhere. No, he just left. Didn't stick around for Derek to be born."

"I'm sorry." I tried to picture this man but couldn't conjure an image to fit other than a bigger Derek, and I definitely didn't want to think of the man who abandoned his family like _that_.

"Nothing for _you_ to apologize for," said May. "Now, why don't you tell me more about you guys."

"What do you want to know?"

"How you got involved in this whole mess."

I needed no further prompting. I had certainly thought back on the past couple of weeks often enough that it came naturally to tell it out loud. I started at the very beginning, when I had first seen the ghost janitor at my school, leaving out only the most trivial details (and a lot of my kisses with Derek- there were some things his mom probably didn't need to know…). By the time I was catching up to the present, Tori and Simon were beginning to wake up.

When I had finished our tale, some forty minutes after starting, May fell into thoughtful silence. She had been a good listener, interrupting rarely and then only to clarify an event. I studied her, struggling to gauge her reaction. Her expression was smooth, a perfect poker face, impossible to read.

At last she spoke, though that was only to tell us that we were getting off at the next stop. I returned to my original seat, shrugging my backpack over my shoulders in preparation. I wished May would comment on our story, offer praise or criticism or _something_. I didn't know exactly what I was expecting from her after she just told me her life story and I told her mine in turn, but definitely more than what we got.

The bust stop we got off at seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, and at first I wasn't sure what we were doing there. Several yards away was a gas station. That was it for civilization.

"Um…is _this_ where the Edison Group has their lab?" Simon asked skeptically.

"A couple miles that way," May pointed off into the distance.

"So…we're walking?" his brow furrowed.

"Great," groaned Tori.

"Yup." May began walking in the distance she had just pointed to. We struggled to keep up with the brisk pace she set, maintaining the same sauntering gait as the night before.

Despite my persisting fatigue, it was hard not to break into a sprint. _Derek_ was there, locked up, maybe hurt…I wanted nothing more than to just go _rescue_ him already. Time simultaneously flew and dragged, warped by my combined desperation and fear for what we would find.

At last, a white, steel-sided building rose up out of the grass in front of us, punctured by several tinted windows, surrounded by chain-link. Very lab-y.

"This it?" Simon asked, somewhat rhetorically.

As answer, May tugged us behind a tree. "You three stay here, alright?"

"What?"

"No!"

"Why would-"

"No," she cut off our protests. "It's too dangerous. You are _children. _Granted, very, very brave children, but still just teenagers. I'm not going to put you at risk."

"We're going to help!" I fought to keep the anger out of my voice. Who was she to tell us we couldn't join in the rescue? Ok, so she was his mom. Honestly, we knew Derek better. We'd spent more time with him recently. If anyone had rights to save him, we did.

"Chloe, I need you to listen to me-"

"We're not just going to wait out here!" Simon argued, making me wince as I realized how much he sounded like a whiny child. I had probably sounded the same.

"You are. Think how much easier it'll be for me to sneak in if it's _just me_. Remember, I'm a werewolf too, I have enhanced senses…"

"And we have powers, which could come in handy."

"It'll be much faster and less dramatic if I go alone."

"You can't just-"

"Stay here." Without another word she took off, sprinting for the gates. None of us moved, watching as she vaulted over the top of the fence and disappeared behind a truck parked in front.

"She makes it look so _easy_," Tori sighed. "Anyway, has it been long enough? Are we going now?"

"Giver her another minute head start…" Simon said. We did, me pacing circles around the tree, counting down in my head.

"Alright, let's go."

True to Tori's prediction, it was much more difficult for us three to climb over the fence. I did okay, thanks to all my climbing experience in the forest when I 'ran away', but the others really struggled. Eventually, though, scraped and panting, we flopped onto the enemy's territory, instantly ducking behind the same truck May had hid behind several minutes before.

So far, so good. We had yet to see any other people patrolling. I should have been more suspicious, Derek certainly would have been, but then all I felt was relief that our break-in would be that much easier.

Simon led the way as we crept around the back of the building, sticking close to the side so as to avoid being seen from the windows. There was a metal door situated every couple of yards. We skipped the first couple, eventually pausing to try the handle of one. It was unlocked, swinging open readily. It brought us into a hallway, all white and sterile. And deserted.

We jogged down it, peering into the little glass windows on the doors we passed, most of them looking into conference rooms. No sign of Derek.

Ahead the hall split, heading off into two directions. Simon started following the right when a _click_ came from behind us. I whirled to see Tori, frozen, caught in front of a gun. Not thinking, just reacting, I dove, shoving Tori down just as the shots erupted. A sharp pain shattered my left shoulder, but I didn't- _couldn't_- let it bother me. A curse sounded behind us, metallic thumping as the man pounded the gun, struggling to get whatever had blocked it from shooting a second time dislodged. "Run!" I screamed, tearing off with Tori down the nearest branch of the hallway, the left, conscious that Simon was already going the other way.

Splitting up was definitely a mistake, but there was no way to go back and right it now. Clutching my arm to try and slow the blood flow, I ran.

**Aha, didn't you miss my uber-mean cliffys? Sorry! Will try and update ASAP…at the very least within 5 months :P**


	35. Chapter 35

**FLUFF!**

**Ok…not exactly 'fluff', but pointless stuff nonetheless. Oh well, it's another chapter.** **Uber-mean cliffy coming up, advanced warning!**

I didn't get a chance to find out if the man managed to fix his gun or not, because as soon as we had rounded a corner Tori shoved me inside a room. It was another conference room: long faux-wood table, plethora of leather-rolly-chairs, coffee machine in the corner. We kept the lights off, crouching in the far corner under the table.

One minute. Three. Five…my head began to spin. Blood, thick and syrupy, still dripped between my fingertips, which were desperately squeezing my arm. Beneath the skin I felt a hard little ball, the bullet, but it was too deep to try and squeeze out.

"Tori?" I whispered at last. "Think it's safe?"

She took her time before responding. "I don't think it's ever '_safe_'…"

"Should we go now?"

Another pause. "Yeah. We should probably find Simon and Derek and get out of here."

Still, neither of us moved. It was only once my vision started to swim that I figured we had better get going. I crept out from our hiding spot, feeling horrifically exposed out in the open. "Come on," I beckoned her forward.

I pressed my forehead to the glass of the window, straining to see out into the hall. It was no good, I could only see about three feet in either direction. Careful not to jostle my injured arm, my other hand moved to the doorknob.

"Wait!" Tori grabbed my wrist. "We can't just go out there! Can't you have Liz or Aliena or someone look for us?"

I had thought of that, but I hadn't forgotten what Rae and Royce had told me. Since our awful reunion, I hadn't had a chance to test if what they said about 'making an enemy of the ghost world' was true. Hesitantly, I began reaching out with my powers. Usually it only took a couple notches of straining before the ghost I was directly focusing on would appear. This time, though, Aliena didn't.

"Come on, come on," I muttered under my breath, gritting my teeth and squeezing my eyes closed.

I pulled harder, my head throbbing to the point where I thought I might collapse…

"Chloe…" my eyes flew open but there was no one there. Still, the voice had unmistakably been Aliena's. "…can't…stop…no…"

"Aliena? What's happening? We need you-"

"Got…can't…stuck…help…" I could only catch fragments of what she was saying, but the general message was clear. We weren't going to be able to depend on her help.

"I'll help you," I promised, then let her go. There wasn't time, not now at least. This mission was going to have to be accomplished ghost-free.

"Chloe? What's going on?" Tori was suspicious.

"Long story. We're on our own, though."

She sighed, but reached for the door knob all the same. As she touched it, though, she gasped. "Why is it all wet? And…sticky?"

I glanced down at my hand, straining to see in the dark. Sure enough it was still coated red. "Chloe," Tori whirled on me, "are you hurt?" she must not have seen the dark stain spreading across my shoulder in the dark.

"Not badly," I wouldn't- _couldn't_- let myself faint from blood loss. It was _not_ an option.

"Chloe, what-"

"We can worry about it later, Tori."

She probably pursed her lips, but at last she nodded. "Alright. But this time, we're getting you help _immediately_…"

"Sure, sure. Let's just _go_."

Thankfully, the hall was deserted. Still, it was with caution that we snuck out. "Right or left?" Tori whispered, barley more than a breath.

"Right." We had come from the left.

In the harsh light of the fluorescents above us, the full glory of my latest injury was evident. "Oh God, Chloe…" Tori froze once she caught sight of it.

"I'm fine," I lied. "We just have to keep going."

"But- right. Escape now, worry later. Got it," she shook her head but began creeping down the hallway in the direction we had decided upon. I followed, staying directly behind her like a shadow.

We walked down the hall in silence, seeing no one. It was eerie this…emptiness. Like before, when that guard had seemingly popped out of nowhere. I almost wished there _was_ a visible threat, so we would be able to ensure we avoided it.

Still peeking into the rooms we passed, I saw they had taken on a more sinister appearance. Instead of cozy conference rooms that could have been in any building, there were actually _labs._ White walls, examining tables, pointy objects and high-tech equipment on the walls…check.

The labs themselves were creepy, but the worst was how some actually had _things_ in them. Not…not humans. Human_oid_ creature, sure, but the twisted up creatures I didn't let myself look at too closely definitely weren't _human_.

"Chloe, did you see-"

"Just keep walking, Tori," I said grimly. I didn't want to think about the things behind the doors, much less talk about them. The worst part was it wasn't as if I could just avoid looking into the rooms. _Derek_ could be in one of them. There was no choice but to look into each and every room, searing those images into the backs of my retinas…

"How long do you think-"

Shouts erupted ahead of us, around the next corner. Exchanging glances, we simultaneously broke into sprints.

As we neared the corner, Tori motioned for me to slow down and proceed with caution. I didn't listen. I had _heard_ something…

Derek. Crying out in pain.

**Again, kinda a pointless chapter, but I wanted to get **_**something**_** done…**

**Don't you hate me and my cliffys? **

**XD**


	36. Chapter 36

**Finally, we get here. The climax, the grand finale. Yes, this is going to be the last chapter. Enjoy it!**

"Chloe, _wait-_" Like hell I was going to wait.

Rounding the corner I skidded to a stop for a nanosecond, absorbing the scene in front of me.

May piggy-backing an armed guard, fighting to steal his gun

Simon, hands outstretched, alternating between knocking two guards back

Derek picking himself off the floor, limping to a standing position, an ugly gash on his forehead

Instantly I was at his side, straining on my tip-toes to study his face. "Derek, what-"

"My god, Chloe," he put gripped my uninjured shoulder and spun around, putting himself between me and the bad guys. It was fortunate they were now all occupied with fighting the others, as Derek kept his back to them. "Your arm…"

"Are you ok?" I demanded, looking him up and down. "What happened? What did they do to you? Is my dad-"

"Shit, shit, shit…" he was muttering under his breath, ignoring me completely. A strip of cloth was torn from the hem of his rumpled t-shirt. He began tying it around my arm, increasing the pain pounding through it exponentially.

Unable to fight it, I staggered back against the wall, swaying on my feet. "We've got to get you out of here," Derek wrapped an arm around me and whirled to survey the room.

Simon was still working on two of the guards, Tori was occupying two more, and May was just now wrestling the guy's gun from his gloved grip. Glancing back into Derek's face, I saw naked panic. Sure he could grab me and run right now, no one was paying much attention to us, but that would mean leaving the others behind, and that obviously wasn't an option.

After a moment's hesitation, Derek jumped back into the fray, grabbing onto the back of one of Simon's guards' jackets and slamming him into a wall. The man slumped to the ground, unconscious or dead? Either way, it didn't matter to Derek. Not this time, at least.

I wished I had armed myself before this crazy rescue attempt. What had I been thinking? I would have given anything even for that flimsy pocket knife I used to have…

Simon was still battling the one guard, Derek was helping Tori…May was losing. The man had managed to grab the gun and slammed it down upon her head, knocking her to the ground. Blood began to trickle out of her skull. She didn't make a sound.

Vision pulsing in and out of focus, I ran to her side, knowing only that I had to help. The guard leveled the gun at me.

It was too late to duck, too late to do anything, and no one was paying attention as he pulled the trigger…

I had forgotten how fast werewolves moved. There was a brown streak and a body hit the floor with a light thud. The bullet never made contact with me, having hit a new target instead.

Foolishly ignoring the guard, who was reloading the gun to try again to kill me, I knelt beside May, flipping her onto her back. Syrupy crimson blood pulsed from the wound in her chest. Her eyes, so much like Derek's that it hurt, were wide open yet sightless. Feeling an unexplainable grief crushing my chest, I turned away. May Souza was dead.

Only now were the others starting to realize this. One of Tori's guards was lying in a heap, and the other was fleeing down the hallway, slapping at the flames on the back of his jacket. Simon's other guard had joined the first on the floor, leaving the only threat the one who had shot May, and right now he was busy.

"Chloe?" Derek's voice was small, smaller than I had ever heard it before. It sounded like it was coming from a young child, innocent and vulnerable. "Is she…"

I followed his confused gaze to his mother. "I'm sorry, Derek." I was. Guilt constricted my chest so I couldn't breathe, tears further hindering my fading vision. She had died saving _me_. It was my fault…

He took a deep breath, fighting his emotion. I knew he hadn't really known or cared for his mother, but still. She was his _mom_.

Simon was standing open-mouthed, staring. Tori, too. None of us could quite believe that she was just…gone.

So lost in our grieving were we that I was the first to notice the sole remaining guard had managed to reload his gun. By that point, it was too late for anyone else to stop him.

He aimed, this time at Derek. I cried out but he was, for the first time ever, frozen with a combination of fear, surprise, and sorrow. Gone was his quick thinking, tossed out the window was his predator's instinct. He was paralyzed.

I knew what I had to do with a sickening certainty. There was no time to knock him to the side, and besides- I doubted I _would_ be able to knock over Derek. As the bullet burst from confinement, I was there, doing the same for Derek that his mother had done for me mere moments ago.

_Please don't actually _kill_ me_, I thought, before the world exploded in pain, so much worse than before. I had been shot before- _twice_- but this time it was a direct hit. I felt something inside me burst…a lung, appendix, heart, I didn't know. Couldn't tell. Everything hurt…

A distant roar, thick with more fury than I had ever heard in a single syllable before, rang out. I couldn't see anything but red, but I knew Derek would be taking out the last guard. He would be so, so angry. Not just at the guard, but at _me_. I almost hoped this thing _would_ kill me so I wouldn't have to endure Derek's wrath later.

It hurt enough to kill me, for sure.

"Chloe." My name. "Chloe." That was all I could make out in the stream of voices filling my ears.

The ground swung away, the world tilting beneath me. There was a rhythm in my ear, a steady pounding beat. I clung to that noise, willing my own heart to match it, to not give up.

Whether _I_ lived or died now didn't really matter. We had Derek back. That in itself was enough to fulfill my every wish.

The cold I suddenly felt signaled that we had reached the outside. We had made it.

I blacked out.

THE END

**Thanks so much for reading this! I hope you enjoyed it! Even though I'm sure some of you right now are probably like 'WTH, that's the end? What's going to happen to Chloe?' right now, but this way I can write a sequel ;D For now, they are more or less safe (well, other than Chloe…) so I figured it was a good stopping point. Rant in your reviews if it really bothers you that much. **

**Toodlz for now!**

**-CaitieCat78**


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